Escape the Ruins
by ASunxMoonE
Summary: Determination is something that can be used in multiple ways, but just one way is correct. As a human child, she had that power, but decided to stay with the one she loved the most, never truly learning about it, till it wasn't too late. When she meets another monster through the door, Frisk learns of the outside world, and wishes to head out, which she eventually does. Toby rules
1. Chapter 1

_**Escape the Ruins**_

* * *

She sat there on her knees. In the middle of a grassy patch, where a certain flower was looking at her before and taunting her for not knowing how to fight, there was a little child with short, brown hair and a long-sleeved, blue shirt with lilac stripes. The shirt was too big; the sleeves were way too long for her tiny arms, which were full of cuts because of the flower's sticky seeds. Even though the yellow flower showed quite a dislike for her and everybody else, she didn't hate him. In fact, she felt compelled to develop a fondness for the creature with six bright petals. It was the first creature she saw after falling down the mountain, after all.

She felt a small tear slide down her cheek. She felt terrible for doing this to the only friendly monster she knew and instantly grew to love. Frisk got her blessing. But she didn't want to leave, all of a sudden. She wanted to return and stay, but the goat monster told her not to return. It would probably break her soul, so she just stayed on the grassy patch, silently sobbing.

It didn't take a long time before a certain flower decided to show up yet again.

*Howdy, crybaby!* Flowey exclaimed upon entering the scene, but his grin soon faded away as he saw that the child wasn't responding. Instead, he angrily frowned.

*Hey, what's with that attitude? I thought you wanted to escape from here.

Frisk just sobbed and hid her youthful face from the flower as she didn't want anyone to see her cry. Flowey rolled his eyes.

*Heh. You really ARE an idiot. Thinking you'll solve anything with tears. TEARS!* Flowey burst into loud, sinister laughter. Seeing that it wasn't affecting her, he decided to stop his menacing laugh and just frowned again instead. Staring at the human for a few seconds made him reconsider his options.

*Look, kid. I've been keeping an eye on you for some time and I've gotta say you have… a talent. A special one. Don't let that go to waste. You could, I don't know… help someone with it…?

One of the small girl's tears fell straight into his face, so he quickly shook it off. He let out a small growl before returning to an apparent calm state.

*Someone out there needs you, you know? You're not alone in this world*, he said and widely smiled to appear friendlier.

She removed a hand from her red, wet face and looked at the flower whose smile disappeared for a second as he saw the situation she was in. He seemed to remember something.

*Don't think that Toriel is the only friendly monster here! There's plenty of 'em hiding outside. You know, I bet if you open that door that leads to the outside world, a pack of friendly monsters will already be waiting for you, arms wide open!* Flowey looked away for a second, *if… they have any.

Frisk removed the other hand from her eye as well. She barely opened them, only to see the flower better.

*Do you need more proof? I mean, I'm here, right? Your best friend, Flowey!* he smiled and started to swing left and right, like he danced some kind of happy flower dance, *Flowey the flower!

Frisk looked down and Flowey's eyes widened as he went frustrated. Clenching his teeth, he tried again.

*What's that look supposed to mean? Don't you like you best buddy bud? 'Cause I like you very much, kid*, those words hurt especially. He almost went sick from that sentence.

*You're… like… my only friend, Cha- um, Frisk!* he looked aside for a moment before returning his eyes to face hers, *I just… wanted to show you how to survive this world if it gets… you know, hard. Basics.

Frisk's tears finally subsided.

*There you go,* Flowey cutely smiled, *much better. Now, why don't we start by helping each other?

Frisk was looking at the flower for some time before she sweetly smiled back at him, making him flinch. She positioned herself so that her head was at her knees. She wrapped her arms around her legs and her cheeks became rosy.

"I like you", she said and closed her bright, lively eyes, and the flower's smile faded as he was filled with terror. He didn't think of the fact that she could actually grow fond of him at her young age. He was a terrifying flower, after all, with an echoic, high-pitched voice and a horrible grin which showed his teeth which he, as a flower, wasn't supposed to have at the first place. He looked around before he went on with the act.

*Yeah, I like you… too… _I guess_ * _,_ he said and looked away.

She was looking at him for some time before he decided to focus her attention at something else, rather than at him. He artificially smiled again and turned to face the child which was looking at him with care and friendliness in her eyes. He hated her expression, but wasn't bored by it, for some reason.

*So… What is your wish?* Flowey asked and happily wiggled his leaves.

"My… wish…?" the kid asked.

Flowey widely smiled, showing his teeth. Then his look went somewhere else, and his eyebrows lowered.

*Yeah, a wish. You know… the thing you want with all your heart and soul, etc. etc.* he said and returned to see her eyes which twinkled at his words.

"I…" the child stuttered and frowned, her eyes getting wet yet again. Flowey's smile disappeared; the rest of his expression stayed the same.

*Hey… you want to… return, don't you? Up there, where your friends are waiting for you, right?* he sweetly smiled again.

Frisk nodded her tiny head and looked at the flower in an innocent way. Flowey thought of a way to completely erase that innocent look she had.

*Oh. I can provide you that. Yeah, I'll help you!* he happily bounced and started to swing left and right again, *Sure, we'll do that!*

Frisk widely smiled and wanted to grab the flower from the joy she felt, but Flowey quickly dodged her "attack" by burrowing into the ground and reappearing behind her.

*But first*, he sadistically smiled and the child turned around to look at him, *you'll have to help me. For you see, I'm just a little, helpless, delicate flower.

Frisk happily nodded and Flowey smiled, closing his eyes.

*Great, let's start!

"What can I do?" the small girl asked and Flowey looked at the stick she had to her right. Then, he looked into the distance and saw a Froggit jumping around carelessly. He smirked and narrowed his eyes.

*You see that Froggit over there?

"The… frogy?"

Flowey remained silent for a moment.

*Yeah. The Froggit. Okay, here's the deal. I want you to take that stick*, the flower said and Frisk nodded her head.

*Go over to that small guy,* he added and Frisk nodded her head. Then, his expression became very different and scary, with huge, sharp teeth and empty eyes.

*And beat the living HELL out of it!

Frisk stared at him as Flowey's face turned normal again. There was silence for a few seconds.

*It's been harassing me the whole day, kid! I don't think I can handle this anymore!

Frisk crossed her arms at her chest and turned away from the flower, raising her chin. Flowey frowned.

*WHAT ELSE?!

"Toriel…"

* _Toriel_ what?* Flowey asked as his expression copied Toriel's face.

Frisk remained silent for a moment, closing her eyes.

"Toriel."

*She's not your mother, Frisk. Deal with it*, Flowey said and stuck his tongue out in a playful way.

As she didn't respond, Flowey frowned and his petals hung down as he sighed.

*You'll do it if I guarantee that she'll be fine?

Frisk frowned and opened an eye to look at the yellow flower.

"Maybe."

The flower just rolled his eyes, took the stick with the vines he had and held it up to her nose. He swung it a few times before pointing it at her, saying: *What would you do if I told you I could erase the past and… start over? Would you help me fulfill my wish then?

Frisk's eyes sparkled as she heard those words come out of Flowey's blabby mouth. The flower straightened and proudly smiled, putting a leaf at his stem.

*It's called… well; let's just call it a… _restart power_ for now. It's something that I, as a _really_ special flower, posses.

"Restart? Power?"

*Gosh, kid, you learn fast! You've earned a sticker.

As Flowey said that, Frisk kept waiting for the sticker which just didn't want to come. The flower then started dancing again and smiled happily at the child's face, making her smile as well.

*Now then. Let's kill this thing.

 _The battle started. A bright red heart appeared right in front of her and she watched it for a moment. Frisk then looked at the Froggit and then at the stick in her small hand. Then back at the Froggit which was looking at her, confused, for it didn't know what she was doing._

*Okay. Let's start right from the scratch again. See that heart? Yeah, the one you were staring at a few seconds ago. Like you didn't see it an hour ago… Anyways, that is your SOUL, the climax of your being. It starts weak and… you probably know the rest. Anyways, now that I won't be shooting bulle- _friendliness pallets_ at you, I can teach you how to fight. Now, take the stick…

 _Frisk took the stick._

Flowey sweetly smiled.

*And shove it into its face. Easy peasy.

 _Frisk decided to compliment the Froggit._

*What the-? Are you brain-dead?! You'll…

Flowey widened his eyes and bended a little.

 _Froggit didn't understand what Frisk said, but was flattered anyway. Froggit blushed deeply._

Flowey got angry.

*No, you IDIOT! Didn't you hear me before?! It's KILL or BE KILLED! You'll die!

 _Frisk was hit by an attack. She opened the bag and ate the Monster Candy she took before. She dodged other attacks coming from the frog._

*Okay, NOW shove it into its face!

 _Frisk chose the MERCY button. Froggit was spared! Flowey facepalmed. Frisk gained 0 XP and 2 G._

Frisk happily picked up the Froggit and carried it to her best friend who was frowning at her, trembling from angriness. She sat at her shins and shoved the Froggit right into Flowey's face, who quickly shook his head and turned away.

"You'll be friends from now on as well!" she happily exclaimed and cutely smiled. Flowey's eye twitched.

*You don't get it, do you? YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED OUT THERE! _And I definitely won't be stalking you while you walk._

"Kiss!" she got the monster closer to Flowey and it croaked. Flowey showed his teeth in anger.

*What?! NO!

Frisk kept shoving the Froggit into the flower's face and Flowey kept dodging her "attacks". Actually, now he wished those were real attacks.

*Why would I do that?!

"When you kiss a frog, it turns into a gorgeous prince. Now kiss!"

Flowey got mad.

*WHAT IDIOT TOLD YOU THAT?!

Seeing that Frisk was getting upset, he rolled his eyes and sighed and explained.

*It doesn't work with flowers.

Upon hearing that, Frisk put the Froggit down. It started hopping around the room and the little child started clapping her hands happily as she watched the monster bounce around. Flowey, not knowing what to do with the kid who didn't want to listen to him at all, heavily sighed. He then tried to reload his safe file, but for some reason, it didn't work. Baffled, he tried again, but nothing happened. The flower felt something similar to fear as it didn't work out, as he suspected what that meant. He looked up at the small, apparently weak child with no will to fight whatsoever, and realized it had the same power as him. The power to reset everything. Luckily for him, Frisk was too young to know how to control it perfectly yet.

*What will it take me? What else do you want?! Just get out of here!* the flower kept trying to convince her to go outside, but the child suddenly widely smiled.

"I don't… really have many friends… up there."

Flowey remained silent and tried to reload the safe file again, just in case.

"And you _are_ my friend!" She happily said and widely smiled. Flowey widened his eyes and burrowed himself into the ground, disappearing without a trace. He didn't show up again.

As Frisk was waiting for him for minutes, she started to sob again as she was left alone. Eventually, she got a response from Toriel who was watching it all in the dark, waiting to see if Frisk is actually going to get out of the Ruins or not. Seeing that the child was helpless, alone and afraid, as well as too young to be on her own, she felt her motherly instincts kick in and couldn't help but to approach the small child. Flowey didn't hear much as he was too far away, but he saw the big goat mom hug the child tightly, picking it up and carrying it away. He narrowed his eyes and silently growled as the Froggit came closer, croaking.

Flowey stared at him for a second before asking: *And what do you want? GET LOST!

* * *

*My child… I'm sorry for not stepping in earlier… I just… didn't want you to end up locked in the Ruins forever. It wouldn't be right for a child to grow up at a place like this, little Frisk, I…*, Toriel said with her nice, mild voice and woefully lowered her eyebrows. Frisk, who was lying in her big, white, fluffy arms, put her small hand on the white monster's face and Toriel suddenly stopped talking and widened her eyes. A burst of joy hit her soul as she remembered the time she had a child of her own. She then widely smiled.

*You know… I've always been a little overprotective, don't you think…?*

Frisk cutely smiled, and Toriel smiled back as she saw the child close her eyes.

*Oh, my sweet little child… Why would you wish to stay after all of this…? I realized that it was wrong to try to keep you inside. Whatever happens, I won't stop caring for you, you know how it is with _old ladies like us*,_ she said the last part in a goofy voice.

"I… want to stay… mom…"

As Frisk said that, tears came to her eyes as she remembered the last child she took care of. She softly embraced the slumbering child and carried Frisk into her room.

And Frisk never left. That is… not before _that_ happened…


	2. Chapter 2

*Once upon a time, humans and monster ruled over the world, together and in peace. There were two races which had helped each others for centuries, and couldn't function without each other. The society had humans: the strong, fierce and mindful warriors, which were there to protect the monsters. And the society had monsters: creatures that had the ability to instantly know each other and were dedicated to the position they had… Their SOULs are made of love, hope and compassion. Monsters are, however, by far weaker than humans, both in their SOUL and in physical combat. Everything was peaceful for the two races sharing the surface… yet… a war broke out between them, one day. Why, you might ask, my child? The humans were afraid the monsters would take their SOULs and become unstoppable creatures, thus leading them into despair and suffering. Monsters can obtain an unfathomable amount of power if they absorb the SOUL of a human… The monsters had no intentions to do so, however. They did not want to fight the humans. But the humans knew they were much stronger and didn't want to lose their freedom. The war… it didn't last long. Not a single SOUL was taken and dust was spread all across the surface… the monsters that survived were eventually banished from the surface and forced to move to the Underground, where they were sealed in by the great human magicians with a magic barrier that… _cannot_ be broken, trapping the monsters forever. The king, whom I… definitely do not know, guided the monsters and helped them regain their fate and hopes. The king named our new home… "Home". He is… not very good at naming things. Soon, the monsters started to dwell here and got used to the life without the humans… but still hoped to return to the surface one day. Some humans did fall down Mount Ebott… but… the monsters had gotten rid of them, because of the hate they feel towards the humans for sealing them away. But do not worry, my child. I would never do such horrible things to pure, innocent youth like you. I do not wish to rob someone of their life, just to avenge… unlike the rest of the monsters. They are all the same. They do not understand your race. Even the ones that care for everyone in general… You see where I am going with this? This is why I cannot allow you to even _look_ outside, my child. I am deeply sorry, but there is no other way of protecting you… So don't ask anymore, do you understand?* the friendly monster explained and smiled at the child's bewildered expression.

"Mom… you didn't need to tell me the whole history just to make me stop… a simple "no" would have been enough", Frisk said and widely smiled, like she always did. The pure innocence she had was shining through the smile she gave her guardian. It's been five years since she fell down the mountain and didn't quite remember how she even got here. But not that it mattered. She didn't change at all anyways.

*I am so sorry, child. You know I do love to talk about stuff like that, do you not?* Toriel happily said and petted Frisk's hair, so that it became a little shaggy.

"Come on, mom…" Frisk said and tried to straighten her hair that was just a little longer than before. Toriel insisted to make it the same length as before, and Frisk had to give in.

Toriel silently laughed before her expression changed.

*Are you… perhaps… lonely?*

Frisk didn't answer. She just put her arms at her back and swung back and forward. Toriel smiled.

*How can I expect something else, though…? You've been in here for five years without seeing anyone but me… must be pretty boring to look at my face all the time, huh?* Toriel laughed again, but the child didn't smile back.

"I'm not lonely."

Toriel's smile disappeared.

"I'm just curious…"

*Oh, curiousness. That can be your worst enemy, my child… You mustn't let it lead you.*

Frisk nodded.

"I know…"

*Now, now. No need to feel blue about it, my child. It is alright, I am not mad. Children need to explore after all, aren't I right?* she sweetly smiled and closed her eyes, *don't you worry. I knew someone who was just like you…*, she stayed silent for a moment, *Oh, look at the time. The butterscotch pie I made for you is probably done by now… Why don't you go play with your friends in the ruins? I'm sure they're already waiting for you…* saying that, she rushed out of the living room towards the kitchen. Frisk realized something was wrong, but knew Toriel never wanted to talk about anything about her past. That's why the child just listened to her and headed out of the neat little house, towards the puzzles in the ruins.

She still remembered how she managed to solve them all without Toriel's help a few days after getting down. She did get somewhat hurt because of the spikes, though.

Excited for another normal day with her friends, she rushed down the corridors to make it there as fast as she could, greeting the dark tree with no leaves along the way. The child happily skipped as she got closer to the room where four Froggits were already waiting for her, three easily visible and one that was ant-sized.

She could already see them in the distance when she passed the room with the switches and columns. She would be there in a few seconds if there wasn't a root sticking out of the ground. She tripped over it, yelled and fell right at the spot where the ground was cracked. She fell through and ended up falling into a pile of bright red leaves, face first.

"Ow…" she said and tried to get up, but fell back into the leaves. She remained lying there for a few seconds.

*Awwww…

As Frisk heard a voice which she didn't know, she quickly looked up and tried to spot from where the voice was coming from. She couldn't see anyone.

"Wh-who's there?" she silently stuttered and put her weight at her arms. The shirt was still too big for her, but didn't bother her as much as before.

*…We could say… a friend…?

Frisk blinked and sat up. She looked around to spot the person whose voice was calling to her, but there was no one. After some time, she realized that the leaves she was sitting rustled as she moved, so she started playing with them. She seemingly already forgot that there was a voice calling for her. The leaves she was playing with were filling her with a _strange feeling_.

*Um… hello…? I said I'm a friend.

Frisk raised her head again and started looking into the distance. Nothing.

*Don't you recognize a friend's voice…?

Frisk just stared for a moment. Then she tilted her head and tried to think of it, but nothing came to her mind, so she just shrugged it off and stood up, walking towards the opening.

*Hey! Why won't you answer me…? Your friend…? Your… BEST friend…?

"I don't remember your voice…"

There was silence for a moment before she could hear a faint laugh. Suddenly, he popped up in front of her, coming out of the ground.

*Howdy!

Frisk widened her eyes. He didn't change at all; he was still the small, bright flower with six petals. He still had the same voice, the same smile and the same attitude as before.

*Golly, you've grown since I last saw you! Five years ago, right? See, see? _I_ didn't forget.

"Flowey…?"

*Flowey it is, kid! Fancy meeting you here! Like you… never even exited the ruins…* his expression started to shift, *you didn't leave, did you?

The flower's creepy smile showed up again and the child suddenly remembered everything he said to her the day she fell down here. Frisk looked around before she sat down again to face the small yellow flower.

*Surprised to see me here…? I've been waiting for you, Chara. Gosh, five years is a LONG time to wait for somebody to return… But you didn't even try to find me, now did you?

Frisk looked weirdly at him when he mentioned the name "Chara", but she didn't say anything.

"H-How are you still alive…? Aren't flowers supposed to… live a short life…?"

*Oh, now you want me dead. That's nice, kid.

"No, no, no, it's just… Mom told me so."

*Mom?* the flower tilted his head and gave her a confused look.

"Yeah… She knows everything…" the child shyly replied as she looked at the flower's surprised face when she said that. His eye twitched before he started laughing menacingly.

*That's so ADORABLE! Thinking she really CARES about you!* he managed to say before bursting into loud laughter again. Frisk widened her eyes as the flower scared her.

"She does, Flowey… you got it all wrong! I can show you, the monsters here are really friendly!" despite obviously getting scared of him before, she widely smiled and offered.

Flowey stopped laughing as he realized that the kid wasn't anything like he hoped her to be.

*They are NOT. You IDIOT.

"They really are, Flowey! Should I bring one to you…?"

*Okay, get another Froggit at my face and THE ARM'S OFF!

As the flower said that, the young human stopped smiling and just stared at him for a few seconds before Flowey burst into laughter again, only this time, it didn't sound scary.

*Just teasing you, kid. I'm your best buddy bud after all, aren't I…?* he said and started swinging left and right again.

Seeing her apparent best friend dance like this filled Frisk with a _strange feeling_.

They were just looking at each other for a few seconds, no one saying anything. After some time, Flowey lowered his eyebrows and slowed his happy dance down.

*Aren't you ever curious? Don't you wonder what's outside…?

Frisk turned away and Flowey frowned. He burrowed into the ground and showed up right in front of her again. He narrowed his eyes from the big, cheesy smile he addressed to the child.

*Avoiding my question must mean you are! Boy, five years in and you still haven't peeked outside? Man, I'd go INSANE!

"I was told not to go outside… monsters don't like humans…"

Flowey's smile disappeared.

*Monsters… don't like humans…? Are you kidding me…?

"What?" the innocent child asked and tilted her head to the right.

*It's funny how DUMB you are. Five years you're living inside the ruins, surrounded by monsters. Even your caretaker is one, Chara.

"No… she's different!"

*Oh, poor kid… You got brainwashed.

"I got… brain…washed…?" she asked as she didn't know what that meant.

*Even if she was different, she can't tell you that monsters don't like humans. I mean… I'm a monster! And I like you…!* for a second, his expression shifted. But Frisk didn't see it.

"But… you're a flower…"

Flowey stopped dancing left and right and frowned for a second. Then he started laughing again.

*AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Guess you're right…

Flowey looked down for a second, then back at Frisk, showed a faint smile, then looked back again, then back at her, then back at the ground. After a few seconds, he looked upwards again smiled and stuck his tongue out.

*WOW. That was EMBARRASSING, wasn't it?

Frisk laughed a little at the flower's weird behavior. She remembered why she liked him before.

"You're weird," she stated and smiled, closing her eyes, "I like you!"

*Heh, yeah… _I remember that… ugh…_ Anyways, what I wanted to say is that you're SURROUNDED by monsters. You've been so for the past five years, kid. You do know that they're independent monsters, right? They do what they want here.

Frisk remained silent.

*I'll tell you a little secret, _human_. Monsters don't even know how humans look like.

"They… don't…?"

*Nope. They have no clue.

"Really…? Why…?"

Flowey widely smiled.

*Oh, I can tell you that. They've been trapped here for years. Decades. Heck, I don't know for how long, I'm just a FLOWER. They're… dumb. Naive. Because they aren't informed. They have no clue what's going on in the outside world, and if they don't try to exit… well, they'll stay idiots.

"But there's no way of getting out…"

Flowey burst into laughter again before becoming serious all of a sudden. He stopped moving, he stopped smiling, his eyes widened.

* _ **Y**_ O _U_ _A_ **R** _E_ _J_ **U** _S_ T _L_ **I** _K_ E _**T**_ **H** _E_ M.

The flower's face suddenly changed into a shape she hasn't seen before: it looked like he was melting while smiling and showing huge sharp teeth. An extremely loud, sinister laugh echoed through the whole area and Frisk got so scared she tried to escape him while crawling backwards, but the flower's voice got even louder and he suddenly grew his stem so much that he ended up looking at her from above.

*WHY DON'T YOU CRY FOR HELP?!

As Frisk was trying to escape backwards, tears in the child's innocent eyes, she didn't see that she accidentally pressed a switch hidden in the red leaves. A trapdoor opened and the screaming child fell down, much to Flowey's disappointment.

As soon as she got lost in the dark hole she fell through, Flowey returned to his normal state and looked down. He tilted his head left, then right, and then smiled again.

*Hope you return one day Chara! **I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU!**

He cutely smiled.

* **I PROMISE!**

* * *

Frisk woke up in tears. She remained at the floor for quite some time and opened her wet eyes to look around. She didn't know where she was, but the place felt familiar to her. But then she realized that everything looked similar in the ruins, so she scrapped the idea of knowing where she was. She tried to get up, but nothing happened.

"Mom…?" she cried for help.

"Flowey…?" she cried again.

"Anybody…?" she kept crying. But nobody came.

Scared, hurt and confused, she managed to stand up and started wandering around the room, trying to find a way to get back up, until she suddenly stopped as she saw a huge door in front of her. She widened her eyes and approached it. It was at least four times bigger than her and was made out of metal. It looked quite old and dusty. Chains were around it.

 _Oh, curiousness. That can be your worst enemy, my child… You mustn't let it lead you._

Frisk remembered Toriel's warning and wanted to listen to it, but the feeling was just too strong for her to ignore. She felt bad, but just wanted to peek out, and that's it.

She slowly approached the door and put her small hand on the door and deeply inhaled before pushing it. But it was shut tightly. The child stopped and frowned. She put her left hand on the door as well and tried to push again, but failed to move the door. Unhappy, she leaned against the door and started pushing as hard she could, but that didn't give her any results. She started to grunt and pant as nothing was working. She leaned her back at it and pushed, but just slid down it. She then tried to kick it open, but hurt her leg instead. Then she tried to do something with the chains, but gave up as she didn't know what to do with them as she didn't have any kind of key. Then she started punching the door like it was going to help. Then she stepped away.

"Excuse me, mister door. Could you please open yourself? Just so I could look outside…?" she asked the door as she remembered how the rock was talking to her the first day.

After waiting a minute for a response, she puffed out her cheeks and started punching the door with her small hands again, like it is going to change anything.

"Let me out, you dumb door!" she shouted loudly, trying to imitate the flower.

 ***hey. what's with that attitude? how about asking nicely again? perhaps i'll change my mind.**

Frisk leaped away from the door as she wasn't expecting any kind of answer. She lowered her eyebrows and approached the door again, gently stroking it.

"Sorry, mister door. I… I didn't know you could really speak…"

 ***that's okay, kiddo. no one gets it at the first try.**

Frisk smiled.

"So…? Are you going to open up a little?"

 ***okay.**

Frisk waited for a few seconds before frowning.

 ***oh, you meant right now? well, okay. i've been practicing here for a long time, after all.**

Frisk smiled again.

 ***ok. here goes nothin'.**

Frisk sat down as she realized it was going to be a long day.

 ***see? literally nothin'.**

As the child remained silent, the voice continued talking.

 ***oh. so you're more the other type, huh? welp. can't blame ya. same here. okay. here goes somethin'.**

He coughed.

 ***knock knock.**

Frisk just sat there, looking at the door. After a few seconds, the door responded again.

 ***errrrm… you're supposed to ask who's there. geez, kid, haven't you ever heard a knock knock joke before?**

"Um… no…?" the child responded and the door went silent for a moment.

 ***oh. living in nescience… somebody's gotta teach you, then. okay, here it comes. knock knock.**

"Uh… who's there?"

 ***boo.**

"Boo… who?"

 ***geez, kid, don't cry. it's just a knock knock joke.**

The child just stared at the door. After some time, the door continued.

 ***no response…? huh. welp. as i said, no one gets it at the first try.**

Frisk suddenly smiled widely.

"I like you, mister door", she said and softly chuckled. The voice didn't come back for a minute before she heard snickering behind the door which later on turned into laughter. The laughter lasted very, very long.

"What's so funny…?" she asked and the laughter slowly subsided.

 ***i'm no door, kid. i'm just a dude behind the door.**

"Oh… hahaha…" Frisk shyly laughed as her cheeks got rosy.

 ***it's okay, no really. people mistake me for a door all the time.**

"Oh. So… what's your name…?"

 ***do you usually ask random strangers for their names? you know there's a lot of creeps out there.**

"No, I just think you're…"

 ***hey. it's fine. knock knock.**

"Who's there?" Frisk asked and widely smiled. She was extremely happy to hear a new voice. She realized she was really sick and tired of always hearing the same old voices, a change was really nice. Also, the person she was talking to seemed really nice as well.

 ***norma lee.**

"Norma Lee…? _Oh!_ Norma Lee who?"

 ***norma lee i don't go around knocking on random stranger's doors, but i just had to meet you!**

Frisk finally laughed, although she wasn't sure if it was because of the bad joke or because of the fact that she got attached to whoever the person on the other side of the door was. He laughed a little as well.


	3. Chapter 3

*Oh… Now that's just perfect!* he frowningly said while looking at Frisk who was still leaning at the door, trying to hear every single word from the unknown character on the other side of the door. Flowey knew who it was, however, and couldn't try to talk the child into leaving the Ruins now. It would be much too risky now that that "Smiley Trash bag", as he would call him, was outside. Flowey rolled his eyes and tried to think of a solution to the problem.

*And what can I do now? Hope she hates his jokes? Ugh… I don't know how this can even be possible, but she seems to like them…

Flowey suddenly turned around and looked upwards, staring at the hole in the leaves above him, as a spiky red leaf came fluttering down and landing in front of him. He was looking at it for a second before widely grinning.

*Oh, I know just the right person to care about her not leaving as well…

After that, he buried himself into the ground.

* * *

* **yeah. heh. sorry kiddo, i'm fresh out of jokes, perhaps if you stumble upon me again tomorrow. i'd tell you a chemistry joke, but… i guess i wouldn't get a reaction.**

She smiled as she was sitting on the cold floor, her back leaning at the massive door, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting at her knees. She was occasionally closing her tired eyes as she was listening to his bad jokes for more than three hours. Some of them were pretty funny, actually, but… She didn't quite understand why half of those jokes were about skeletons. She wouldn't be surprised if he actually ran out of jokes by now, but he somehow didn't.

"So… you're often here…?"

 ***i relish the fact that you've mustard the strength to ketchup to me, kiddo.**

"Why _are_ you here…?" Frisk suddenly asked and the person behind the door didn't answer for a long time. She realized something was odd about his behavior.

 ***i was actually expecting to hear someone else's voice here.**

Frisk's smile disappeared as she heard that. Everything was pointing to the fact that he came to hear her mother, but she didn't want to believe it. She was sure Toriel wouldn't hide anything from her; they told each other everything and shared everything. Frisk felt an odd feeling in her heart.

As the person behind the door realized that no answer was coming, he quickly tried to make it right, although he didn't know if he said something wrong or not.

* **hey, no need to worry… you're a pretty good audience as well. not as good as her, but… good.**

She smiled widely again and looked at the door just like she wanted him to see that she was fine, although he, naturally, couldn't see her reaction.

"Well, it's pretty _bonely_ in the Ruins, I could imagine that person cramping from laughter hearing your jokes, mister."

 ***bonely? cramping from laughter…? jeez kid, you gotta stop listening to me.**

She just turned away from the door again and leaned her head at it.

 ***you needn't call me "** **mister** **".**

She widened her eyes on that.

"Oh, that's right… I haven't even asked for your name! So, what is it?"

* **what is what?**

"Um… your name. You have one, don't you?" She asked and could somehow feel that the person outside the Ruins smiled at that. She didn't know why, but she had that feeling.

 ***sure i do.**

"Mind telling me…?" She asked as her smile was getting wider. She appreciated the fact that he spoke normally for a while, without any puns.

No answer came and her smile disappeared.

"Are you still there?"

No response.

"Hello…?"

 ***uh… yeah, sure,*** he was silent for a moment before continuing, ***knock knock.**

Frisk smiled.

"Who is there?"

 ***snow.**

"Snow who?"

 ***snow use. i… forgot my name again.**

She was silent.

 ***heh. hey. you've been listening to me for three hours straight. i think i should worry a little by now… monsters don't tend to like my hilarious jokes. why don't i let you tell me 'bout yourself, kid?**

Frisk suddenly froze. Every sentence he said, every joke he made, it was all obvious now. She completely forgot she wasn't talking to her own kind, she was talking to a monster, who thought of her as a monster too.

 _*They are all the same…*_

She heard Toriel's voice in her head as she remembered what she was told. Monsters… they don't like humans. They want to get rid of humans as a form of revenge, yet she was talking to a monster like that right now. But… he didn't seem that bad… and she couldn't bring herself to leave him alone, for some reason. It's been such a long time since she heard a new voice; she wanted to listen to him for at least three _more_ hours.

 ***you still there?**

"Huh?!" she shouted as he made her stop thinking and her voice spread across the dark room with only one source of light coming from above. Echoes of her shout spread through the area and Frisk stared. Thirteen years passed and she never heard such a thing. Then, a chuckle from behind the door came.

 ***not much of a talker and more of a shouter, huh?**

"N-not really…" she stuttered and laughed a bit as well before a period of silence came again.

 ***what kind of a monster are you anyways?**

Frisk looked down as she heard that. She knew it was not a good idea to tell him that she's no monster. All she knew was that he could kill her, or at least leave her behind, alone.

"A… small one."

 ***we're two of a kind, huh?*** he asked with clear felicity in his voice.

"I guess so…"

 ***you're really similar to her… in a way*** , he said after a while.

A smile appeared on her young face again. Although she knew he might be extremely dangerous, she couldn't help but to smile at his soothing, yet tired voice.

"I get that a lot."

 ***heh… so it** _ **is**_ **you… frisk, right?**

"You know my name…?"

 ***yeah, i recall hearing her voice saying to you to stop eating Vegetoid's vegetables before lunch. a long time ago. but i clearly remember it. so… there's food and drinks inside. what else can you want?**

Frisk was silent for a moment as she didn't know if answering to his question was the right thing to do or not.

"It's… it's dark inside."

The voice didn't respond.

"It's cold… and dusty as well", she said as she was looking into the distance.

After some time, the voice returned again: ***yeah, we've got that as well. it's dark, for there's no sun in the underground, it's cold, yes, and we've even got a white, cold form of dust. well, not really, but it's everywhere. so it's just like dust.**

Frisk widened her eyes.

"Snow…?"

 ***ugh… yeah.**

"I… I remember it…" she whispered as there was a faint memory of her playing in the snow as a tiny child. She was alone in the dark, but the snow was keeping her a great company. It was dancing and twirling as the cold winter wind was blowing. And she danced along.

 ***you… remember…? wait a sec, i think i'm seeing a connection here. all the jokes i had to explain… you haven't seen the outside world for a long time.**

Frisk was silent.

 ***aren't i right… frisk…?**

Frisk couldn't bear it anymore and finally wanted to leave, for she felt like she was going to cry again, but as soon as she stood up, she heard a thud on the door and the monster on the other side of the door started talking again, only this time, it was actually something she wanted to hear.

 ***the snow's dancing around the air right in front of me, kid. it looks like it wants to greet you from the outside world.**

Frisk approached the door again and leaned her ear closer to hear his voice that suddenly got mute.

 ***there's not much i can tell you, i'm not really a good narrator, but… the sky's dark. it's always like this, but… the air is filled with hope of returning on the surface today. actually, it's like that every day. when we don't have electricity, which we, by the way, have, we use crystals to shine our way through passages and streets. in the small, cozy town i live, snow covers every part of it. it's on roofs, on trees, on us. but, man, if you could only see it… the atmosphere and the people there are simply great. it's such a small town, yet everyone seems genuinely happy and laughter fills the air. kid rocks play humans and monsters, kids stand around a big tree where they put presents at christmas… it's a tradition we hope to spread, one day. but not every part of the underground is snowy… there's a huge swamp and a dry wasteland as well. and to top it all, we have a castle.**

"A castle?"

 ***hasn't the old lady told you anything? the huge castle where the king lives…? it's completely white on the outside, but on the inside, there's a garden full of gold…en flowers. the king keeps good care of them, i must say. welp, i know why.**

"Why?"

 ***. . . i'm gonna need to talk to that lady. anyways, a terrible thing happened in the past that made the king and queen very sad… i'd tell you about it, but i think you should ask the person behind you.**

As he said that, she immediately turned around to see the caretaker of the Ruins looking straight through her. She looked shocked, scared and confused as to what was going on. Frisk blinked a few times before facing the door again.

"How did you know…?"

There was no response.

Her goat mother swiftly approached her and immediately grabbed her tiny hand with her big, furry one and started dragging her away from the door. Frisk was never dragged by her, which made her a bit angry, so she quickly broke free from her hold and ran to the door yet again, leaning on it.

 ***knock knock.**

No response, just gasping.

 ***will you remember me?**

She was quite surprised that he knew what was going on. It was like he already saw that coming, like he knew what was about to happen the whole time and had to keep her around a certain amount of time. Still in shock, she immediately answered: "Yes."

 ***and in a week?**

"Yes."

 ***and in a month?"**

"Sure."

 ***and in a year?"**

Toriel worryingly grabbed her hand again and pulled her away, gently. She didn't want to hurt her after all, but couldn't risk anything. She could find out everything Toriel was keeping from her, and she couldn't allow that to happen.

* My child, please, you mustn't be here…*

"Yeah!"

 ***knock knock.**

"Who's there?" She loudly asked as Toriel was dragging her. Frisk didn't see it, but Toriel tightly closed her eyes as it hurt her more than the kid.

 ***see? you forgot me already.**

* * *

Frisk couldn't answer anymore as she was too far way. As soon as Toriel brought her upstairs via a secret passage, she crossed her furry arms and looked angrily at her, standing in front of the stairs that led to the door. Frisk was looking down.

*What was that behavior right now? Frisk, my child, I thought I had warned you of talking with strangers. Oh, can you even imagine what would have happened if they found out…? Frisk, I could never forgive myself it that was to happen.*

Frisk crossed her arms as well and Toriel's angry face turned into a sad one.

*My child… Haven't I told you that they are all the same…?*

"But mom… he was nice to me and I-"

*He was nice to you because he doesn't know that you're a human.*

As Toriel said that, Frisk looked up at her and frowned.

"No, he… He would like my even if he knew I was a human!"

*Oh, thank God you didn't tell him*, she said and gently hugged the child she cared most about, *I was so afraid for you, my child…*

Suddenly, the kid angrily broke from the hug and retreated a little, only to see the shocked expression on her mother's face. Toriel had never seen her mad before.

*Frisk, why are you acting like that…?*

Frisk was clearly sorry for what she did, but she acted like she was strong, yet had to look away from Toriel to hide her eyes, which were getting wet. She suddenly realized how much of a crybaby she was and immediately disliked that about herself.

"You never told me anything… why should I tell you, then?" she angrily asked and looked at Toriel, who seemed very disappointed in her.

*Frisk, my dear child…*

"I'm… not such a kid anymore! I can take care of myself!"

*Frisk, I…*

"I'm not that small anymore, I don't need your guidance in everything, mom, I…" she said while staring into her eyes and Toriel's eyes widened as she remembered how she was acting when she wanted to leave the Ruins.

 _*_ _I remember when I fought you, my child… so that you could prove that you were capable of heading out in the danger all alone, with no one to guide you… You never left, just because you felt sorry for me, was it not like that...? The look in your lustrous, promising eyes is just like back then, when you looked right through me. In your eyes, my child… I see something that I have seen before, somewhere, on someone else… No. This is different. Similar, but, oh, so different… Is it… what I think it is…?*_

Frisk puffed out her cheeks, trying to act like she did before when she didn't get the thing she wanted. Like when Toriel wanted to make snail pie, but Frisk didn't want to put the snails into the cake, claiming the snails were her friends. Toriel just laughed at that and gave her the bucket of snails. She never saw them again after that. And couldn't eat or even make snail pie in front of her watchful eyes.

 _*The look you're giving me, my child…?*_

Frisk stopped acting as she saw that something was wrong. She tilted her head and looked a little worried. On that, Toriel remembered that the kid would always do that when she was down. That would often happen when the monster would remember the past with her family. She always had to lie to her then, making up silly stories.

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

 _*I'm sad because the Whimsun aren't today. And someone has to fill the void, you know, my child? It is just like… a circle of life.*_

" _Mom?"_

 _*Yes, my child?*_

" _What… is a circle of life…?"_

 _*Oh… well, circle of life… It is nature's way of taking and giving… happiness back to Earth, dear Frisk. It symbolizes the universe being divine, the infinite energy, meaning if someone is sad, it gives them happiness the other day, to make it up to them.*_

" _. . . Mom?"_

 _*Yes, my child…?*_

" _You don't need to lie to me… I asked just to confirm what I heard. I… know it's about life and death. If something dies, the world gives life to another creature, isn't that right…?"_

 _*Who told you so?!*_

" _I watched TV, mom. Mettaton said so on his six 'o'clock show_ Mettaton & Friends. _"_

 _*First of all, don't wake up so early. Second of all, I did not give you permission to do that, and third of all… don't listen to that guy. He's not what he seems.*_

 _*End of Flashback*_

* * *

Toriel heavily sighed.

 _*Is it… DETERMINATON…?*_

"Mom, I-"

*Frisk, I can't believe I'm doing this, but,* she silently said and sighed yet again, before opening her eyes and strictly looking at her, *go to your room.*

The child wanted to say something to that, but Toriel looked at her angrily.

*Now.*

The kid quickly left and Toriel woefully looked at the floor. She didn't want to seem bad or angry, but she knew if she wouldn't handle some things right then, it would bring no good.

The white furry monster woefully looked down as she wasn't prepared for that kind of thing, but she always knew the day she had to tell her everything would come, sooner or later. She just hoped it would be a bit later. She took a deep breath and swiftly walked downstairs towards the door. As she got into the corridor, she suddenly slowed down as she started to look around restlessly for something. As she got to the door, she suddenly stopped and heavily sighed.

*Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was _bonely_ *, she silently joked and the person at the door softly chuckled, yet managed to hear the sadness in her voice.

 ***nice one. not very original, but nice.**

Toriel didn't say anything after that, expecting some kind of joke from the person behind the door. He was the only one who was capable of making her laugh when she was troubled, but this time, the jokes didn't come. Not a single one.

 ***you're unusually quiet. is something the matter…?*** he asked like he didn't hear what was going on.

*It is nothing, really…* she said at first, but as he didn't respond, she decided to add an important detail, *can you promise me something…?*

 ***um… what…?**

*If a human ever…*

 ***a human? why would…**

*It does not matter right now,* she cut him off, *Just… please. Promise me you will not attack them.*

 ***i…**

*Promise me you will take care of them like you care about your brother.*

 ***b-but… lady, i don't even know…**

*Promise me whatever happens, you will protect them.*

 ***why are you…?**

*Promise that you will protect them with your life. Even if the human fails on their path. If they stumble, you will help them up. If they hurt someone, you will forgive them. Yes, even if they do not SPARE and ATTACK until the monster's dust is spread, you will SPARE them and help them out, even if it means you do the same thing. Do you understand?*

There was no response from the monster behind the door. Toriel frowned.

*I know you are still here.*

 ***welp. it was worth a try,*** he said and laughed a little before getting serious, ***but why would you ask something like that from me? i… don't think you know, but. . . i 've seen humans do terrible things. **

*It is hard, but can you not promise me this? Can you not fulfill my last wish, fellow jokester?*

 *** . . . last wish?**

Toriel didn't respond, so the skeleton behind the door sighed heavily.

 ***i guess… i could try…**

*Don't just try, do. And one more thing… if they ever come out of the Ruins, do not return.

 ***what…? i thought we were friends. buddies. chums. pals. comrades. allies.**

*We are, friend. But friends help each other, am I right? Please, try to understand. I need you with them, not with myself. I entrust this very important mission to you.*

Something about her speech seemed very odd to him. She didn't sound like the same old lady who was behind the door, trying to keep up with his jokes anymore. She sounded like someone with authority, like someone you can't turn your back on. It was like she was another person and he suddenly got a bit scared of her strict voice, settled thought.

 ***mission…? ma'am, you're making this way off my pie chart.**

The old lady behind the door suddenly hysterically laughed as she heard the small pun he did there. He slightly smiled as he heard her laugh again and put a hand which was being held warm in a white glove at the huge door. He looked upwards from where the sound was coming from. The only things he knew about her were that she was tall, liked bad jokes, took care of a kid, liked pie, especially snail pie, and had a strange fetish for humans. Still, he didn't want to ignore her. She was a great friend he never saw, and probably never will. Nothing more, nothing less. His smile then suddenly disappeared as he sighed. His smile was usually always there, even though he was rarely happy.

*That was a good one*, the silent, friendly voice came from the door again.

He laughed a bit, just to make her believe he was still in a good mood.

 ***welp... fine. i'll do it.**

He turned around and put his hands into the pockets of his blue jacket. He shook his left slipper to get snow out of it and his smile disappeared again. He took a few steps forward before looking back at the door another time, sighing. He wasn't sure how to feel about all of this, because he disliked humans on _a_ _very special_ _level_. He shook his head and then slowly walked away.

 ***under one condition*** , he said after he was sure she couldn't hear him anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

*Knock knock…* a voice came from outside the door. It sounded especially silent and courteous that moment. Frisk didn't want to answer her call. She was sitting on her bed, looking at her feet as she was swinging them. She felt something in her throat as she heard her calming voice again. She knew Toriel came to apologize, but didn't know if she was ready to face her again. She was ashamed for her behavior before.

" _Perhaps it'd be better if I don't answer… she might go away…"_ the thirteen year old kid thought and stopped swinging her feet to prevent the goat mother from hearing her move.

After some time, a silent chuckle came from behind the door.

*I know you are still here, my child.*

Frisk didn't want to smile at that, but she did.

*And I know you like jokes now. You think your old mom doesn't know how to be _hip_ like the youth nowadays as well?* Toriel said in a goofy voice and Frisk widely smiled.

"Mooooom…" she said and put a pillow over her face. Even though no one was there, she felt embarrassed.

*Oh, come on, my little one. Let me at least try.*

The goat monster leaned closer to the door to her child behind the door silently snicker and mumble something.

*Knock knock.*

After a long time of waiting with a gentle smile on her tired face, she got an answer.

"Who is it…?" the child annoyingly asked and Toriel's smile got bigger.

*Goat.*

"Goat who…?"

*Goat to the door to find out who is knocking.*

"I know who's knocking, mom. I'd always recognize your voice."

Toriel felt her heart ache for a few seconds.

"You've… been here with me for the past five years… almost six now… How could I not recognize it?"

*I could voice act.*

"No, mom, you couldn't."

Toriel laughed at that and put her big fuzzy hand on the doorknob. She sighed before asking: *May I come in?*

There was no answer, so the goat mom carefully opened the door and walked in. She saw the child she was taking care of sitting on her unmade bed, a pillow at her thighs. Her head was lowered; she didn't want to look at Toriel. Her hair was shabby and her hands were hidden in her blue shirt with lilac stripes which was still too big for her, even though five years passed. Toriel wished she would never grow out of it.

As the child wasn't responding, she looked around to see the room she was in. The toys behind the bed were facing her, looking a little sad as well. It seemed like Frisk didn't play with them in a long time. The wardrobe was still filled with the old clothes from before, but Frisk rarely wore them. She would almost always wear the same striped shirt and Toriel couldn't wash it as often as she would like to. But she understood the child: it was the only thing Frisk still had her reminding of her own life on the surface. No shirt could replace it. The cupboard next to the wardrobe was filled with new toys and all kinds of small figurines now. Frisk would sometimes make figurines made out of clay by herself, which she would then put into the cupboard as well, never to touch again.

Toriel took a look on the picture frame on the cupboard as well. In it, there was a rather small picture which showed Frisk and Toriel widely smiling at the camera. Frisk was still a nine year old back then, and her cheeks were rosy. Toriel didn't change at all. Both of them were taking care of the yellow flowers located on the small grass patch Frisk fell at a year before. Toriel was holding a watering pail and had a funny-looking straw hat on her head. Frisk was holding a bouquet of the yellow flowers. Everything on that picture was talking about happiness, even though there were just two members of the family. The picture was taken by Napstablook, whom Frisk befriended as well. It was also the only picture they had taken because Napstablook accidentally dropped the camera, and despite the mother and the child saying that it wasn't his fault, the ghost cried himself out of the Ruins. He doesn't come to the Ruins very often now.

The last thing she looked at was the drawing which she never removed, even though it always reminded her of the time when everything went wrong. She didn't bother taking it off the wall because Frisk never questioned it… and also because it was super glued to the wall. Toriel widened her eyes as she realized that there _was_ a change on the flower. Two dots as eyes and a long line as a mouth with teeth sticking out was added to the old drawing. She didn't question it too much, though.

*Is everything alright, my child…? You seem… like you are mad, for some reason.*

Frisk didn't respond, so Toriel approached her and sat right next to her. The bed squeezed and screeched, so Toriel laughed a bit.

*Oh, my… Seems like I should train a little more.*

As she said that, she looked at Frisk and noticed a smile on her young face.

"Mooooom… Why would you say such things…?" Frisk asked while laughing a bit. She tried to conceal her laughter, but it didn't work.

*I don't know… I know it's a tickly subject, but…* she said and suddenly started tickling her. The kid started laughing and squeaking from laughter as she tried to push the goat monster away. After some time, Toriel stopped and the kid hugged her mother.

"I'm sorry."

*I am as well, my child. It was not really nice from me to pull you away from that door by force, but… you must know that I want to protect you. This monster you were talking to… he is dangerous, my child, but nice. Do not worry, Frisk, I will not let him know that you are human, and everything will turn out just fine.*

Frisk was silent at that. As Toriel knew that she was sad because she couldn't be a friend to him, she gently hugged her back.

*It is for the best that way.*

"I know…" Frisk said, "But it's been such a long time since I met a new person…"

*It would be the best if you just forgot about him. He… cannot be your friend. I am sorry.*

Frisk firstly lowered her eyebrows, but then she smiled widely.

"It's okay."

Toriel smiled back.

*But promise me you will not do anything reckless, okay? I don't think he will come back anyways… So don't go searching and waiting for him, please*, Toriel said, even though she knew something was going to go wrong with her plan. Her motherly instincts were telling her so.

"Sure, mom", Frisk said and Toriel got up.

*Make sure you get down to dinner. I've made snail… uh, I mean… vegetable broth. Have fun, my child*, she happily said and elegantly stood up. Before she headed out, she quickly glanced at the flower drawing again and glared at it for a few seconds, before facing Frisk again and smiling. Then she silently opened the door, went out and closed the door afterwards. Frisk was left alone, in peace.

* _I_ d _o_ n' _t_ t _h_ i _n_ k _h_ e _w_ i _l_ l _c_ o _m_ e _b_ a _c_ k _a_ n _y_ w _a_ y _s_ … S _o_ d _o_ n' _t_ g _o_ s _e_ a _r_ c _h_ i _n_ g _a_ n _d_ w _a_ i _t_ i _n_ g _f_ o _r_ h _i_ m, _p_ l _e_ a _s_ e. HAH! Such an IDIOT!" Frisk heard two familiar voices speak to her. The first one sounded like Toriel, but the one right afterwards sounded like a certain flower she knew.

*Do you REALLY think she is trying to PROTECT you? Hah!

Frisk blinked a few times before bending and looking down the bed to spot a familiar face. The flower was happily smiling at her. Then he covered his face with his leaves.

*Peek-a-BOO!* he changed his face so that it looked like he was melting as he said the second part. Frisk jumped up and screamed a little. She froze for a second before returning her head down to see the flower happily swinging left and right.

*Missed me?

Frisk lowered her eyebrows and said: "Not really."

Flowey stopped moving and just frowned at her. They were staring at each other for a few seconds before Flowey started his happy dance again, but this time, he didn't look happy.

*I had to break through walls to get here, so SHUT UP.

Frisk blinked and Flowey smiled again.

"You didn't have to, really…"

*Let's try this again, shall we? Do you really think she is trying to protect you?

"Well… yeah. She's my mom. Moms are protective."

Flowey rolled his eyes and frowned.

*Yeah right. She'll leave you behind sooner or later.

Frisk looked weirdly at him, so he returned to his cheerful side.

*Hey. She only keeps you around because she is LONELY. That's what old people do. They keep people around so they won't be bored.

"Uh… she's not an old person…"

*Not?! Hah! She'd be like forty in human years… Or even worse… forty one! Ugh! So old.

Frisk stared as he said that.

*Anyways, she's lying to you. That should be pretty much obvious right now. That guy's been here for years. He's just waiting for something… One day, she overheard him practicing knock knock jokes from boredom. That's how your 'mom' and the skeleton met. The end.

Frisk stared at him. Flowey wasn't the old Flowey anymore. Suddenly, the flower frowned.

*DON'T YOU GET IT?* his face got scary again, *SHE'S TRYING TO KEEP YOU IN HERE. YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO ESCAPE THE RUINS. _**W**_ H ** _Y_ N** _ **O**_ T _**T**_ R _Y. **..**_?

"She said I shouldn't go talk to him anymore… He is dangerous."

*Everyone is dangerous in here.

"She knows what's best for me, Flowey," Frisk frowned at him and Flowey saw that this time, he won't be talking her into anything, "you can't replace her love."

The yellow flower shook from that word. Love. He couldn't bear hearing it.

*I'm just saying that the skeleton will come again. And again. And AGAIN. AND AGAIN. You will remain trapped in here till you DIE, if it's going to go on like this. And he will still be waiting for someone who could understand him… someone he could trust. He WILL wait for you Frisk.

Frisk frowned and grabbed a toy from behind the bed.

"Flowey, I won't disobey. I promised."

*That's what you think. _C_ u _r_ i _o_ u _s_ n _e_ s _s_ c _a_ n _b_ e _y_ o _u_ r _w_ o _r_ s _t_ e _n_ e _m_ y, _m_ y _c_ h _i_ l _d_. You won't be able to withstand the pressure. Believe me, I was just like you. I wanted to know everything and see everything. Because I could, Chara. And now… it's too late to-

Frisk threw a toy into his face and the Flower squealed. As Frisk reached for the toy to see if he was still alright, because she _did_ care about him, she realized he was already gone.

* * *

That night, Frisk didn't get much sleep. She was wondering if Flowey's words were right. The thing she feared most was that she wouldn't find out how it looked outside. She felt her heart burn in desire to look at the snow again… at least to hear him talk about it again, if nothing else. That night, Frisk realized that she wasn't ready to stop trying. She realized she would never be ready to accept defeat and move on. She realized she had to listen to her SOUL… _and_ Flowey.

* * *

As a result, she secretly visited the door to the exit day after day, and she would occasionally meet up with the skeleton behind the door. Whenever she would ask for his name, he would refuse to tell it to her, for some reason. But that was fine with her. The monster would talk about the other monsters and their wish to exit the Underground. He would often talk about the snow and how it was greeting her. After a while, she would start talking about the dust greeting him, and he'd always laugh. Sometimes, he would start talking about his jobs, but would suddenly fall asleep. When that happened, Frisk knew it was time for her to get upstairs. Sometimes, he would talk how the trees looked like and how the sky looked like. He would talk about the shiny rocks and dust in a particular cave, and how the monsters would often wish for something when looking at them, as they didn't have stars. The way the unknown monster would describe them reminded her of real stars, so she would use her somewhat bad vocabulary to talk about them. The skeleton wouldn't get the difference, but played along anyways. And Toriel? Sometimes, she could hear them talk when she would pass by, but decided not to step in. She would just smile. Toriel herself would often talk to the skeleton after Frisk went upstairs. This would go on for over two months.

One day, though, when Toriel was not around, something else happened.

* * *

"Hey, Frisk's here!" the now fourteen year old kid happily shouted as she bumped into the door on purpose.

 ***yeah. i know. been waiting for ya, kid. you're late.**

"I'm not, you just fell asleep at the door yesterday, remember?" she happily said, failing to realize that he was just playing along.

 ***oh. right. you know, i'm so good at sleeping, i can do it with my eye sockets closed.**

Frisk was just happily smiling. Ever since he agreed on coming every day, she couldn't stop smiling. Toriel knew the reason for that and was happy, but at the same time, unimaginably frightened.

 ***knock knock.**

"Who's there?"

 ***amish.**

"Amish who?" Frisk asked and lowered her eyebrows as soon as she got it.

 ***oh, how sweet of you. missed you too.**

"You do know you just made me say that, right? So that must mean… you missed me, but were too shy to say it yourself."

 ***nobody likes know-it-alls, kid. good thing you're not one. me, shy? i'm bone to be wild...**

Nothing came from Frisk.

 ***whatevs.**

Frisk snickered, but went silent for a moment again.

"You… You said… you would tell me your name if we got to know each other."

 ***knock knock.**

"Yeah?"

 ***it's doughnut.**

"Doughnut who?"

 ***doughnut ask. it's a secret.**

"Oh, come on…"

 ***sorry, kiddo. as long as you're not telling me what kind of monster you are, i'm not telling you my name. quid pro quo.**

"I don't know what that means… Also, I can't tell anyone about you if I don't know your name. They all think I'm making you up…"

 ***tell them i said hi.**

"Oh, why can't you just tell me?" the kid was desperate. Behind the door, the skeleton chuckled.

 ***'cause i'm** **bad to the bone** **.**

"Ha-ha. Yes," Frisk annoyingly said before continuing, "knock knock."

 ***who's there?**

"Wire-man."

The person behind the door already snickered, anticipating the joke.

 ***wire-man who?*** he managed to say before he started snickering again.

"Wire you doing this to me, man?"

The skeleton laughed a bit too hard on the joke. Frisk had the feeling he was trying a bit too hard acting that it was _that_ funny.

 ***ahhh… because i can.**

He suddenly stopped the laughter as he realized Frisk went silent.

 ***hey.**

She gave no answer.

 ***you're acting oddly today. you haven't even asked for the weather outside.**

"You told me it's always the same… didn't you?"

 ***well… it is, but… you'd ask anyways. it's a thing now. telling each other the weather on our sides. i tell you that it's snowy and that the snow greets you, and you tell me the dust is really dusty today and that it wants to greet me as well. i thought it was our tradition to talk like that. didn't you too?**

"I… kinda grew out of that phase."

 ***oh.**

Silence ruled for a few seconds.

"I just… want to see the snow you're talking about."

He didn't say anything.

"I want to see the big, snowy trees. The dogs you know and the small one which keeps stalking your brother."

 ***yeah, toby. the greatest dog ever.**

"The shiny rocks in that cave you were talking about… I'd make a wish too. I want to feel freedom again… even though I love my caretaker; I want to escape, even if it was for a second… just to feel it all again. Also… I want to see all those monsters outside. Froggits, Whimsuns, Vegetoids, Looxes, Migosps, Moldsmals… they are all interesting and my friends, but… Sometimes, I wonder how other ones look. My mother was telling me about other monsters many times, but to actually see them…"

 ***now, i get the fake star thing, but monsters…? come on, kid, we both know you just wanna get out of here. perhaps you want to see my brother, 'cause he's so cool. or me, 'cause… i don't actually know why you'd want to see me, but, heh. and believe me, those moldsmals and froggits are great in comparison to some monsters. there's this guy, jerry... ugh. no one likes him.**

"No, you don't get it."

 ***i do, kid. you feel like us, but double the pain. cause you're in a prison… in a prison.**

Frisk remained silent.

 ***it's not that i don't wanna help you. i just don't have the heart to do it.**

"Literally?"

The skeleton laughed as he realized he just told a joke.

 ***yeah. but also no. you see, i really like your old lady. she's nice. she loves you from the bottom of her heart. i can't just tell you how to get out of here.**

"Wait… you know?"

 ***kid… don't you have ears? i mean, that'd be entirely possible, but. but.**

"Don't avoid the question now."

 ***i'm not avoiding anything… except everything. man, i'm hungry. wanna join me? i'm going to grillbz.**

"Are you kidding me right now?"

 ***nope.**

Frisk stared at the door for a few seconds before puffing her cheeks out again. She would never get rid of that habit.

"Please. Don't you know how it is to have a dream…?"

The skeleton outside was silent. He didn't respond for a long time.

 ***...listen, kid. i know you wanna escape, but... the lady loves you. would you really do that to her? i mean, i could always cheer her up, but... it wouldn't be the same.**

"Haven't you ever had a dream?" she kept plaguing him with questions that were hitting hard. She stood up at her tip toes and leaned closer to let him hear her better, "Like… not having to do anything anymore? I know you'd like that."

The skeleton outside sighed and Frisk heard him getting away from the door.

"It's been 6 years since I fell into the Ruins by now. I haven't felt free for 6 years. I wouldn't be mad if you just left me here, I'd understand your behavior… but I can't keep up anymore…"

No one answered, so she fell to her knees.

"I don't know if you're gone yet or not by now, but… I just wanted you to know that… if I don't look outside for another year… I'll… I'll have to give up. I… will never try to leave again. No, I will never try to even think about it. Maybe it would be better that way… just to give up… But… I… Please don't leave yet! Please…" Frisk started calling him in fear of him leaving her. Little did she know that Flowey whispered those words to her in her sleep night after night.

"I don't want to stay like this forever! I don't want to give up… I don't…"

 ***** **sans** **.**

Frisk widened her eyes and stared at the door.

 ***my name. sans, sans the skeleton.**

"Sans…?"

 ***yeah. i didn't tell you to surprise you with my whoopee-cushion in the hand trick, but then i realized it would be too good to be true.**

"Sans…"

 ***no one falls for it anyways.**

Frisk suddenly smiled and tilted her head.

"That's a nice name."

 ***uh… thanks, kid.**

"Thank you for finally telling me it."

 ***welcome.**

They didn't say anything for a minute.

"Why didn't you-"

 ***listen, kid. you mustn't give up. i don't usually do anything... that's it. but there was something i did that i regret to this day and i can't get over it. you must _never_ give up. understood?**

She didn't even have the chance to tell him anything as he just continued.

 ***i've listened to you for quite some time and i know you're a good person. you won't harm nobody just 'cause you've been inside for a long time. sure, you'll need some time, but…**

"Are you implying that…?"

 ***the old lady's been talking to me almost every day. i... could try asking about the key to unlock the ruins. i don't know how she'll react to it, but... just don't give up, got it?**

Frisk widely smiled.

"Are you serious? Sans, I…"

 ***you're quite the thing, kid. i'm rootin' for ya.**

Frisk, even though she knew Sans would never know, hugged the door as she couldn't hug him. He was, however, already gone.


	5. Chapter 5

She didn't have to wait a long time before her caretaker appeared in sight. Scared she would manage to spot her, she silently tiptoed towards the wall and slowly slid across it as the goat monster was slowly walking towards the door where Sans was still standing and waiting. As she saw that her mother was looking around restlessly for something, glasses on her nose, Frisk heavily sighed and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, the mother decided to stop looking for the child, whom she was sure about was in there with her. She came a little earlier that day as she wanted to meet up with Frisk, but that plan had to be cancelled as it seemed that the child had already left.

Frisk silently walked out of the room as soon as the mother turned away. She felt pain in her heart, but great curiosity was making her do that. She quickly bypassed her room and the living room, catching a sweet scent of Toriel's great cooking. Nevertheless, she didn't stop walking. She went right outside and sat under the big tree on which leaves could never stay and would immediately fall down as they grew. She suddenly let herself fall into the pile of leaves, and as she did, many of them flew right into the air and started dancing in front of her face. One even managed to land on the child's nose, but she didn't bother to shake it off. She didn't feel good at all. The sense of guilt was filling her up and she didn't know what to do, she was never in this kind of situation. For six years straight she wanted to leave and see what was outside, and now that she had the chance to, she didn't want to head out anymore. She would miss Toriel and all the friendly monsters that were always playing with her, not to mention that she was scared of the world outside. Would she stay the same as now, or would she change together with the environment outside? In the Ruins, everything was always the same and there were no surprises. Her head was full of some questions she possibly couldn't find the answer to, so she didn't pay attention to her surroundings.

*Finally escaping, aren't we?* a familiar voice said and she slowly opened her eyes. In the background, she saw nothing but a dark, dusty ceiling. Sometimes, tiny spiders would crawl down it to greet her. This time, nobody came. She just shrugged her shoulders as her eyes slowly begun to close again.

*Oh, no need to be shy about it. The Ruins are just one part of your life… There's still more,* the yellow flower said and somehow managed to lengthen his stem to come in front of her face, *so why aren't you happy now that you got what you wanted?*

Frisk shrugged her shoulders and Flowey frowned.

 _*I'll never be able to get anything out of this dumbfounded child*,_ he thought as he got back down. He removed a few leaves from his tiny, fragile-looking body with his leaves and just waited for a response. The only response he got was that Frisk decided to turn to lie on her stomach, thus squeezing the flower.

*Mmmfhmmm!* he squealed before burying himself into the ground and reappearing right in front of her face. He looked pretty mad, but that didn't stop him from gently removing the red spiky leaves before facing Frisk. The flower's face shifted as many spiky teeth appeared in his mouth, and his eyes went dull.

*WHAT is your PROBLEM you imbecile minded child?!

Frisk was just lying there, not responding to any of his questions. As Flowey knew that the child was pretty much innocent and didn't act like a kid in her years would usually do, he widely grinned and swung left and right before closing his eyes in a cute fashion.

*What would you say if we played a little game?* he wanted to win over her attention. Frisk didn't respond. He then put his leaves in front of his face anyways and started counting to three in a playful tone.

*One… Two… Two and a ninth… Two and a quarter… Two and a third…* he peeked at the listless kid before returning to his count, *… Two and a half…*

Frisk just turned around again and looked at the ceiling as she wasn't in the mood for listening to Flowey.

* **THREE**!* he said and removed the foliage from his face, revealing a dark void at the flower's usually white face. He started laughing thunderously, but stopped as he realized that Frisk wasn't paying any attention to him. He rolled his eyes and somehow managed to hide his frustration.

 _*It's okay, Flowey, it's just a kid, Flowey… no need to stab her to death_ yet _, Flowey…*_ he kept thinking as he heavily sighed and widely smiled again, approaching the kid's face. This time, she could actually see him as she wasn't staring at the ceiling anymore, so Flowey didn't have to put in extra effort.

 _*Maybe a… ugh… friendlier approach will help…_

*Hey… is something the matter…?

Frisk just blinked at his question and he dumbly smiled while showing his big front teeth, constantly nervously looking left and right.

*You seem stressed out. What? Did the goat already replace you?* he evilly grinned before he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be that way. He put on a sad façade.

"I… think I don't wanna leave…" she suddenly said and the flower's eye twitched as he falsely smiled.

*Um… did you forget that… um… it was just your DREAM TO GET OUT OF THIS MESS?!* the flower yelled and started breathing heavily. As Frisk looked strangely at him, he just smiled again.

*Ha-ha… Got a little carried away. It's just… that you've been… wishing that for years now… yes, I've been listening… It's really IDIOTIC to throw that away now…* he kept talking her into getting out as he had a plan with her because of the special ability she didn't know how to control yet. The fiend knew how to use such a person.

"Did you ever feel sorry for a person you loved, even though you knew you were doing the right thing, Flowey…?" she asked as she looked at him. There was no smile on his face, but he quickly changed that. His eyes weren't smiling, though.

*Feel… loved… yeah, sure. Why not? I _know_ those feelings…

"What did you do?" Frisk asked and Flowey happily swung his leaves.

*Well, ignored them, of course!

Frisk just stared at him as Flowey kept looking at her with no intention to correct his answer.

*Or **KILLED** *, he added and his face changed into a creepy one again.

Frisk was still staring at him. Being innocent was keeping her from realizing how bad the flower actually was. She couldn't understand.

*Look, it's either kill yourself or be killed. There's nothing you can do about it. It's just the way this world goes. Take it from me.*

Frisk didn't want to listen to him, but had to look at the flower who was trying to brainwash her, thinking he really meant to help her with her decision.

*I've seen the whole wide world, Chara. Being a flower with special powers…*

"You mean flower powers?" Frisk shyly asked and sweetly smiled, closing her eyes as Flowey just stared. He knew where she got that bad sense of humor from.

*BEING A FLOWER WITH SPECIAL POWERS…!" he said and waited a moment to see if Frisk was going to interrupt again, but as she didn't, he continued, "Being a flower with special powers gives me the opportunity to do just everything I desire… but those monsters… they don't cherish it. They… play with your emotions… They… forget you.*

Flowey's smile disappeared for a while.

*I've heard it all. I've seen it all. I got bored. So I decided to shift the story a little… and… voila! We're friends now!* Flowey decided to change the story he was going to tell her so that he wouldn't tell too much. He lowered his eyebrows and widened his smile.

*See? If it weren't for my curiosity, you would never have met me. And that would be a shame, right?*

Frisk narrowed her eyes.

"Wait… didn't you try to tell me something else…?"

*Nope.

"…Are you sure?"

Flowey just stared.

*ANYWAYS. Curiosity is a great thing to have. Wishes are natural. They are what make you a living, thoughtful being. And not grasping for an opportunity like this is simply DUMB. And I don't want to call you dumb, Chara. We're… _f_ ri _en_ d _s,_ Chara…

Frisk's cheeks became rosy again as she widely smiled, closing her eyes again. The wide smile she would always make was scaring the little golden flower, so he'd flinch every time.

*Heh… you've always been unpredictable...

"Flowey… Why are you always standing?" Frisk asked and the flower frowned.

*'Cause I'm a freaking FLOWER. That's what flowers do.

"Won't you lie down next to me?" She asked while still smiling. The flower puffed out his cheeks and hesitated for a moment before he decided to do as the kid said.

 _*Everything to make my plan work, everything…_

He uncomfortably lied at the ground, pushing the spiky leaves out of his way. He then exhaled as he looked at the ceiling. Everything looked weird to him from that perspective.

"Will you take good care of my mom when I'm gone, Flowey…?" Frisk asked as the flower frowned.

*Sure. I'll bring her flowers to her bed every night as well. Also, I'll read her stories if she loses her ugly glasses. Which are ugly*, he sarcastically said, but Frisk didn't get it.

"Thanks a bunch!"

Flowey covered his face with his leaves. He was losing his patience pretty quickly.

"Oh, and… uh… will you still be my friend when I return, one day…?" Frisk suddenly asked and the flower felt like killing himself rather than her now.

*Ugh… friends. You and me.

Frisk turned her head to look at the tiny flower, who acknowledged the fact that she could literally crush him with ease if she'd only get a few inches closer. Not wanting that, he awkwardly smiled.

"Well… you were the first one whom I met in here after all… You _did_ try to murder me, though…"

*Um… that's just 'cause of the story with humans being bad…*

"To the bone!" Frisk finished his sentence and Flowey just stared. He hadn't had the energy and will to do anything else anyways.

 _*I'll murder your face one day, you_ _slubberdegullion_ _._

*You surely know how to kill the mood, human*, Flowey said, frowned and looked away. They didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes.

"Yeah, friend."

Flowey didn't respond. He was looking away, into the distance, trying to act like she never said anything about friendship, frowning. He knew it bothered him a bit too much, for what he was.

* * *

 ***listen, lady. i'm afraid that the kid you have knows there is a key to the door... it told me where she saw it last. if i were you, i'd hide that thing.**

*Why the long _voice_ today? I haven't _heard_ this side of you yet…*

 ***she's going to escape if you don't hide that key, ma'am. it won't bring you any good...**

Toriel's smile suddenly vanished as she narrowed her eyes.

*Why would you say that? You think Frisk would want to leave me alone in here? She has it great, with all the monsters inside, with all the books we read together… she hasn't stopped smiling since she knows you as well, dear skeleton friend.*

 ***... please think about what you said right now. does something like reading books and smiling at skeleton jokes sound like fun for a kid to you…?**

*Oh, but… They are fun to me and I…* Toriel lowered her head as she knew that she wasn't right. Deep down, she had always known the child wasn't happy enough. She knew her time with her was slowly passing. The idea of a goat raising a fourteen year old suddenly sounded funny to her. She softly smiled again, knowing that the skeleton was speaking the truth.

 ***i believe it's like torture to kids to read snail facts… no offence, but i've been there.**

*Oh, such a burden… But…* she suddenly shook her head and changed her mind as she realized how much she loved the child, *No. Frisk is happy in here. I do not understand why you would say that she is not… We are a great family. There are some complications, but… She would _never_ leave me.*

Behind the door, Sans looked sad. He was carrying the burden of bringing a small, cute family apart and he felt strongly for the goat. After all, he was part of a small family as well and exactly knew how she felt for the younger member. Frisk meant the world to her, just like Papyrus meant to him.

 ***i know... but frisk could literally escape whenever she wants to with the key she holds...**

*There is no key.*

Sans' eye sockets widened as he heard that. He felt like something stabbed him in the middle of his back.

 ***there… is no key…?**

Toriel was saddened as well. She didn't know what to believe in anymore. It seemed to her that the skeleton was trying to break them apart, for some reason. She heard him practicing his battle technique one day and thus knew he could be a real danger to her child, as the child was also a human. If not the monster she thought she was friends with, than the king would try to kill her. And to lose the only person she lived for now… it would break her SOUL in an instant. She didn't want to live through all of it again. No one said a word anymore.

*I… Is it dark already…?*

Sans didn't respond. He frowned again as he knew she was disappointed. But for the kid's wish, he kept his mouth shut.

*I… I should really go to sleep. You know how us old ladies are, right?* she asked.

 ***i…**

*Good night*, she said in a quivering voice and backed off the door, slowly, like she didn't care anymore. As Sans was leaning at the door to hear her better, he widened his eye sockets and leaned his back at the huge door that was changing everything, slowly.

 ***wait. lady. i didn't mean it…**

*It's okay. Really.*

 ***d-don't leave yet. please, just let me explain...**

*I'm fine… If I'd be so desperate as you think, I could take _you_ in anytime I wanted to… could I not…?* a silent voice came from the other side.

 ***we'll hear each other tomorrow again, right?*** he asked and hopefully smiled. But there was no answer. He then sighed and slid down the door, sitting on the cold snow which was, for some reason, constantly falling. At least he knew that he was welcome if anything happened. Also, he knew he was lying to himself, so he frowned yet again.

* * *

"Sans… are you still here…? Sans…?" the kid was calling him, so he suddenly woke up and looked around. He was still sitting right at the door, so he slowly managed to stand up and shake the snow off himself. He then falsely smiled again and narrowed his eye sockets from the smile as he put his freezing cold boney hands with no gloves into the pockets of his open hoodie. He didn't even bother shaking his slippers that time.

*Told you he wouldn't wait*, a high pitched, echoic voice came from behind the door and Sans' smile suddenly vanished again. He remembered that voice from somewhere, and it wasn't from inside the Ruins. He grew suspicious now as well. For a few seconds, there was no sound coming from the inside.

 ***still here, kid. you're late again.*** he said and widely smiled after saying that. He was glad at least one person was listening to him now; he never needed more anyways.

"What a relief… I thought you forgot about our deal", she happily said and he laughed a bit.

 ***yeah… 'bout that.**

"You forgot again, didn't you?" Frisk asked and the skeleton smiled a little wider.

 ***again? when did i ever forget something?**

"Nothing special. Just my birthday a few days ago, for example."

 ***oh.**

"Or when you forgot to ask your brother why his cooking is so terrible?"

 ***didn't have the** **guts** **to do that.**

"Or when you…"

 ***enough, kid. i don't forget stuff** _ **that**_ **easily.**

Frisk widely smiled.

 ***no. the thing is… there's no key to this door.**

"There… isn't?"

 ***nope.**

"You're joking right?"

 ***nope.**

"So… I'll be stuck in here forever…? I'll never get out after all…?"

 ***nope.**

"That's…"

 ***yeah, that's the joke.**

Frisk stared at the door.

 ***listen, kid. i don't like makin' promises, but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. i'm sure you'd do that for me as well... i'm going to open this door, no matter what. at least to make you see what's outside, ok?**

There was no response.

 ***there's just one way to do this. by force. step a few steps back, kid. you might get hurt. when i say 'now', you'll start running towards the door and won't stop, got it?**

"Are you serious? This door is huge and… you're so…"

Sans was waiting for her to finish the sentence.

"So… uh… so…"

 ***small. i get it, kid.** **small** **. now step a few steps back and when i say now, you start running like a devilish flower was chasing you, understood?**

Frisk nodded, failing to realize the monster couldn't see that, and backed off. As she was standing there, all kinds of feelings were filling her up. There was curiosity, which was making her do this at the first place. There was fear of the unknown and of how'd he react upon seeing her. There was excitement and happiness, but also sadness every time she'd remember her goat mother, as she would never know what had happened to the child. The thought of that would make her want to turn back and forget about all of this, but the child, for some reason, refused. She felt that she shouldn't back down, no matter what. She felt that there was no way of retreating now, it was just her and the world which was waiting for her arrival. She was filled with a _strange feeling_ she couldn't describe, but loved the feel of it anyways. It was just like she found her purpose. She turned her head around to look at the Ruins one last time before she would leave. Everything seemed as dark and empty as always, but she found light in the place by knowing it well. She slightly smiled as a feeling of love and understanding was finding the place for it in her heart for the last time. She felt the smell and taste of the butterscotch cinnamon pie she would get every Thursday from her mother and her smile widened. She then closed her eyes which were filled with fear and agitation and clenched her hands into fists. She was utterly sure that she had to escape, just like the flower always told her to. It was for the greater good.

Outside, Sans was looking at the huge door, smiling like he'd almost always do. He slowly hauled himself a few feet away from the door and turned around even slower. He then closed his eye sockets and sighed to prepare himself.

 ***welp. sorry old lady, but you said to look after her, not to keep her imprisoned.**

He then raised his left hand and opened his left eye socket, revealing a glowing, blue pupil in it. The glow started spreading through the air and soon started rising into the atmosphere, mixing with the strenuous snow which was unmercifully falling to the ground. The skeleton suddenly felt his power again after a long time and a circle appeared around his feet as all the snow impacted by the magic power had risen from the ground. His eye socket narrowed as his smile got slightly wider.

 ***huh. who knew the next time i'd use my powers, it would be for opening doors. man, i could start a business with that. i'd surely earn a fortune**.

Frisk, who was inside of the Ruins, could feel the presence of strong magic. She smiled as harsh cold was surrounding her. She sweetly smiled as the magic was making her hair fly in all kinds of directions, including into her face. She remembered how the wind felt like. She spread her arms and the _strange feeling_ came again, only this time, it was clearer.

 ***now.**

As she heard that, she froze for a second before widely smiling, ready to see the outside world. She ran a few seconds before she got close to the door. Knowing it'll open a new world to her was filling her with the _strange feeling._

Outside, Sans was waiting, both of his hands in his pockets. Already snickering, he just waited for it to happen.

 ***three… two… one. gotcha.**

He heard a loud thud and burst into laughter.

"Owwww… SANS! I trusted you!" he heard her shout from the inside, which made his laugh even louder.

 ***that… was totally worth it. sorry kiddo, rule number one. don't trust anyone.**

There was no response, so he stopped his laugh and coughed for attention.

 ***okay. let's try this again, shall we?**

Frisk still didn't trust him, but did as he instructed anyways. She got into position again and waited for his signal. She had to wait there two minutes. She didn't feel any magic this time.

 ***ok. now you may proceed.**

She didn't do anything. As Sans realized something was wrong, he tried again.

 ***um... now.**

Frisk started running again, even faster than before. Knowing she might get hurt again didn't bother her at all as she had just one goal: to escape. While running, she opened her eyes and to her surprise saw the door slightly opening, so that she could feel the cold. Frisk's heart bounced.

" _Could this possible be it? The moment I escape…?"_

She closed her eyes before running into the door again, pushing it to open. This time, it was slowly working. The door was terribly heavy, but she was sure it could be moved. She was DETERMINED to move it.

 ***oh... this is so hard...*** Sans stated as he was combing his skull. As he looked in front of himself, he realized that the kid was literally pushing the door to her limits, alone, without his help. As he realized that, he dumbly smiled and quickly put the comb back into his pocket.

 ***oh... sorry 'bout that, kid.**

As he said that, his pupil started glowing again and the skeleton monster quickly moved his left hand to completely open the door which was keeping the kid sealed away, without any problem.

 ***and, kid...? how do you...?*** he stopped his question when he heard a loud yelp. Frisk tripped as she was literally pushing nothing, fell at the snow and, because of the friction, slid downwards, ending up rolling in the snow. Sans widely opened his eye sockets as he saw that a huge pile of snow was coming his way.

 ***nope. no thank you. i'm outta here*** , he said and turned around to leave, but his laziness and tiredness forbid him to do that as the huge ball of snow came right at him. It picked him up and, together with Frisk and all the snow, he started rolling away from the Ruins. After a few seconds of rolling, he could feel getting pounded to the ground as all the snow and Frisk landed on top of him. Every bone in his body hurt and he went unconscious.

* * *

 ***ow ow ow… where am i…?*** he silently asked when he came to his senses after a few minutes. As he opened his eye sockets, he could see darkness in front of him. The darkness was full of falling snowflakes, though, so he was sure he was still alive. He smiled and sighed in relief before looking ahead of himself, seeing a thin, small figure right at his chest. The figure had shabby, middle long, brown hair and was wearing a blue shirt. The person lying at him had small hands which were tightly squeezing his white shirt. He thought she might be hurt as she wasn't looking up.

 ***um... kid...? you ok there, buddy?**

Frisk didn't respond, so the skeleton got a little scared for her. He really didn't want to mess everything up right after seeing her. The old lady could kill him with ease as they were still close to the Ruins.

 ***perhaps i shouldn't have let her bump into that door by full force... or make her pull that giant door by herself...*** he turned his head away from her, but was still looking at her with a smile on his face, ***i'm such a bonehead.**

He heard silent laughter coming from the teenager, so he smiled and looked back at her. She then lowered her eyebrows and looked at the skeleton's face. In front of her, she saw a monster with a chubby head and a hole where his nose should be. There were two eye sockets staring at her, white pupils in each of the socket. She realized he really didn't joke about being a skeleton. What she immediately liked about him was the wide smile on his face, which suddenly started fading as he saw what she was. The only thing he saw at her was that she was a human.

"Surprise", she shyly smiled and silently said.

He immediately flinched and tried to get away from her for a second before he realized she was still lying on him, falling back into the snow. He then sat up again and looked around himself before facing her again. His left pupil suddenly turned blue as he couldn't control himself and it started glowing, so he tried to conceal it by covering it with his hands. He started sweating as well.


	6. Chapter 6

*Should I… let her leave the Ruins for a moment…? Or no… it's better if she doesn't know…* the white, furry monster was talking to herself while looking at the mirror to see her sad, tired face. She didn't know what to do to make the child she loved more than anything else happy.

*If something were to happen to her… I…* she smiled, *haha. I guess I wouldn't be myself anymore. If I lose another child… No. We are a happy family. Nothing can break as apart*, she proudly said and straightened herself, looking right at her fixed reflection.

It was late at night and she knew Frisk would usually sleep this late. Toriel would often check on her while she's asleep, not to see if she was still there, for she trusted her with all her heart, but to see her sweet, innocent smile as she was dreaming. There was nothing she wouldn't do to keep her behavior just like that. And her smile too.

The room was brightly lit. It would stay like that through the entire night, every night. Toriel wanted it to be lit as she thought that Frisk was still afraid of the darkness that waited for her in the Underground when she first came down here. She failed to realize she was growing up very quickly, as she completely ignored the fact that she wasn't a monster, and, vice versa, that the goat monster wasn't a human. The difference between them was too tiny for her to be of any importance.

*It isn't even important, why am I so worried…?* she lied to herself while still smiling at her proud reflection, which soon started to shift into a sad one.

*It's not like she's not perfectly happy here…* she didn't even realize she was lying to herself, as she was blinded by fear for the child's safety and her own loneliness.

Just as she wanted to go to sleep as well as she was barely standing at her feet, she heard a silent chuckle behind her, so she quickly turned around. She knew that evil laugh from before. On the ground in front of her, a small golden flower was looking at her with an evil, creepy smile on his white face. As she looked at him in fear, however, his grin faded and he just gaped at her for a moment. Then, he shook his head and looked at her without any expression in particular. He was just standing there.

*There's a thing with mothers, I realized. They never know what's going on*, he said and stuck his tongue at her, so she narrowed her eyes and approached the small golden entity and knelt down to get closer to him, still frowning. He frowned as well.

*You again… I told you to stay away from my child. What did you do?* she asked and wrapped her soft fingers around the flower's stem. He gasped and struggled to break free, but was way too weak to do anything to the goat monster. He could have attacked her to break free, but he needed his plan to finish first. Then she pulled him out of the small hole he somehow made in the floor.

*Me? I… I didn't do anything this time, actually.

*This time*, she repeated.

Flowey dumbly smiled.

*What are you trying to say, anyways? You do not know me or my intentions.*

*Oh, I know LOTS of things. LOTS of 'em… but YOU in particular, Mrs. Child keeper. I've watched you for years by now, just like I watched everybody else.

At that, Toriel widened her eyes. After a fearful expression, she got angry again and squeezed the flower's body so that he squealed and started struggling to get out of her grip again. But nothing happened. After that, he gasped and looked into her eyes again, lowering his six bright petals which were illuminated by the light from above. As he was staring into her eyes which were slowly getting less and less angry as Toriel saw that the flower wasn't doing anything against her even though she knew he could. At that silent, vacant moment, Flowey tried to feel something as Toriel's eyes were staring right through him… but nothing happened. He then widely smiled, showing his creepy face and laughed menacingly, making the goat mom angry again. He abruptly tilted his head and it looked like his face started to melt. There was a deep cut from his left eye to the bottom of his head and his right eye was cut in half, so the furry monster widened her eyes and threw him away as she got terrified, so that he hit the wall. He started laughing again and made a couple of bullets appear in the air, throwing them right at the ground to make a hole in it. After that, he planted himself back into the earthy soil. Feeling the monster's stare on him, he slightly raised his head to see her confused expression, on which he smiled widely.

*If you only knew what I know…

As he said that, Toriel calmed down and sat at the floor, carefully watching him.

*What do you want…?*

Flowey's grin intensified as he thought of all the possible reactions he could get after saying that the child escaped. The feeling of determination was filling his soulless body up.

*How _delicious_. Your concern for the human child who doesn't give a DAMN about your feelings... Right now as we speak, the human is happily bouncing in the snow outside, far, far away from 'home', as you call this WRETCHED place, exploring the vast world of the monsters. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? She's either going to KILL everyone or GET KILLED.

Toriel's eyes widened as she heard such words coming from a small, golden flower.

*How can you even say such things…? Who are you?!* the goat suddenly yelled and the flower's face shifted into a scared one, although he wasn't scared at all. He could have destroyed her in that state by now. After a few seconds of not saying anything, he widely grinned as his face started to melt again.

*I _A_ M TH _ **E**_ PR _ **I**_ _N_ C _E_ _O_ F D _E_ _ **S**_ T **R** _U_ C _T_ I _O_ N _A_ _N_ D **L** _O_ **A** _TH_ *, he yelled, after which his expression returned to a normal, cute state, *and soon, you'll all perish at the hand of me. After that, I'll cross the barrier on my own and steal the SOULS of hundreds and thousands of humans as well. Oh, and don't worry,* he winked and stuck his tongue out, *my predictions say you'll be one of the first six monsters whose SOULS I'll absorb, so you needn't worry.

 _At that, Toriel got angry and formed a fireball in her hand, aiming it towards the flower. He easily blocked it with a huge root sticking out of the ground. He then creepily smiled and tilted his head._

*Oh… so you wanna play with me as well…?

 _Toriel started charging an attack, but Flowey's root got to her feet and pulled her down, so that she fell at her back._

*How **PREDICTABLE**.

 _As he said that, Toriel grabbed the root and scorched it, so that Flowey squealed and had to release her. The goat monster stood up and frowned at the flower in a scary manner, what she usually wouldn't do, and Flowey grinned as he made dozens of bullets appear in the air around him._

*It's funny how DUMB you are. EVERYONE thinks they can stomp on a little flower… WHO CARES FOR THE FLOWER?! FLOWERS CAN GROW BACK! No problem… But NO, they can't. NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE FIXED!* _he continued talking and Toriel was just watching him as she couldn't understand what he meant. That was predictable from her as well, making the flower furious. As she didn't respond with anything, he charged all of his attacks and aimed it directly at her, knowing that she couldn't dodge even a single one of his bullets. The monster soon felt all of her energy being drained and she fell to the floor… Toriel's health started lowering too quick for her to handle… Everything went black for a second… But she was still alive._

*… _What_ are you…?* _Toriel asked as she was staring at the golden flower, lying on the ground, defeated. Her robe was full of cuts and scratches, and fur was located all over the floor. She was pretty sure she had only one HP left, so she gave up. The flower was right in front of her, and she was lying in the corner, leaning at the wall._

 _The flower smiled, then frowned, then looked at the ground, then smiled again and then faced her, narrowing his eyes._

* **YO** _ **U**_ **R** _ **B**_ **E** _ **S**_ **T N** _ **I**_ **G** _ **H**_ **T** _ **MA**_ **RE** _._

 _After that, he disappeared in the ground._

Toriel, still shocked from what she had seen a few seconds ago, managed to stand up at her weak legs and looked around like she didn't know where she was anymore. Confused and scared of what might be with the child, she called Frisk's name.

*But nobody came*, she heard the flower's high pitched voice again and terrifyingly looked into the direction of the sound, seeing no one. The scared monster's heart skipped a beat as she realized that the flower could have told her the truth, so she swiftly turned around and headed down the corridor as quickly as she could to see the child, accidentally knocking down the huge mirror she was looking at before. She would usually always clean up after an accident, but this time, she didn't care. The mirror broke into thousands of small pieces and scattered all over the place.

*Frisk, are you alright?* the worrying mother asked and lightly knocked at the door as she didn't want to wake her up in case it was all a false alarm.

*Frisk, open the door, my child.*

No response.

*Frisk… Please my child… Please open!*

Nothing.

The goat's trembling hand got to the doorknob and she deeply breathed in, ready to face the truth. Then, she opened the door.

* * *

 ***so, uh… you're… a human... right?*** Sans asked as he managed to stop the eye socket from glowing.

Frisk lowered her head as she was sorry she didn't tell him before. Sans didn't respond as she didn't say anything.

 ***...** **right, kid** **...?*** he slowly said, sounding different than before. There was no humorous tone in his voice this time, and Frisk got scared of him. Toriel did warn her about the other monsters before, after all. But now, she was out, and all on her own.

"I… Yes… I'm… I'm a human… but I…"

 ***that's hilarious.**

"I swear I'm not bad, I would never kill anybody… I just wanted to see the world outside… I never lied to you, I just… Wait… What?"

 ***that's hilarious.**

Frisk just stared at him as he was smiling there, right in front of her, being untroubled. All that tension on his visage disappeared in a matter of seconds. She didn't get him at all.

 ***welp. seems like we finally meet, human. wow. never thought i'd say that again*** , he said as his pupils faced away from hers. She blinked a few times and wondered what he meant by that. He then returned his sight at her, his smile widening. It all seemed too odd for her to be true.

 ***what? temmie got your tongue, kid?**

Frisk blinked again and Sans' eye sockets narrowed.

 ***it's fine... i was just a little out of control cause i've been snowdin before. it's really cool now.**

Frisk didn't manage to conceal her smile and the skeleton smugly smiled as he saw that she really liked his bad jokes.

 ***heh... um... kid. could i ask a favor of you...?*** he silently asked after a few seconds and the kid slowly nodded as she was still looking at the center of his face. He leaned closer to her ear.

 ***get off me.**

Frisk blushed and immediately leaped up, feeling the snow at her feet as it got into her brown boots. The child sneezed and crossed her arms at her chest, trying to withstand the harsh cold. She couldn't look away from the winter wonderland she was in, though. The skeleton chuckled and lazily got up, putting his left hand at her hair and closing his eye sockets.

 ***it's ok, kiddo... though i really wish you were somewhat younger, so i'd feel taller.**

Frisk smiled at that and looked up at him with her sparkly, innocent eyes, widely smiling.

"I don't think you're that short… you're still taller than me, so it's fine."

 ***heh. an inch. while standing on a snow lump.**

She looked down at his feet. He was really standing on a snow lump. She snickered.

The skeleton's smile got a little smaller, but he seemed happy. Frisk suddenly pushed herself away from the hooded skeleton and started to leap around excitedly as she was finally free, laughing and humming in a cheerful way. Sans was just watching her as she was doing that, while a sweet smile was slowly showing up on his face.

 _ ***heh. guess i was wrong… this one's different.***_

"Sans, you never told me the snow was so… real… And the trees… they smell so fresh! And… and the cold… it actually hurts! Haha… Does it take HP…? Uh… And the atmosphere! The smell that's coming from somewhere… is it cinnamon? Oh! And this rock… it's completely different from the rocks inside the Ruins… Oh, and what's that?" Frisk was asking around and happily bouncing, not even trying to hide her happiness or trying to get a real answer to her questions.

 ***you like it that much, kid? geez, why didn't you tell me earlier?**

As he asked that, a snowball came right into his face and he just stood there while the kid was laughing at him. He was still smiling, though, so Frisk didn't pay attention to him, thinking he won't pay her back. After a few seconds, a huge pile of snow came right down at her, burying her in it.

The skeleton proudly approached the pile of snow and sat on top of it, crossing his arms.

 ***geeettttttt dunked on!*** he said while smiling. After a few seconds of enjoying his win, he started searching for the kid buried in the pile of harshly cold snow. After he found her and pulled her out, she started laughing as well, so he joined her.

After a while, he stopped, so she stopped as well, looking at him with eyes full of hope. He didn't want her to worry, but he was afraid of what the monster that took care of her will do after she finds out that her beloved child went missing. Just as he wanted to ask her about the friendly woman who lived in there, Frisk sneezed and Sans smiled, completely forgetting what he wanted to ask her.

 ***not used to the cold, huh?**

Frisk couldn't answer as she sneezed again. And then again.

 ***wow. you seem to have caught a cold already, kid. four minutes in and you've already managed to defy the laws of science.**

She sneezed again and Sans' smile widened.

 ***heh. you'll explore more tomorrow, kid. first, i'll take you to my bro. he knows how to make some tea. despite being a terrible cook, i mean. everything's going tibia k.**

Frisk snuffled, rubbed her eye and smiled widely as Sans took his hoodie off and put it over the kids shoulders. Her cheeks became rosy again.

 ***bundle up, bucko. we're going on an adventure. through an ordinary town. but it's going to be epic... just imagine epic background music to it, ok?*** he said, stood up and smiled. Frisk happily nodded her head and immediately took his left hand, on which he responded with a weird look, but didn't do anything against it as it triggered the whoopee cushion in his hand. Frisk widened her eyes and looked up at him as he was widely smiling and softly chuckling.

 ***um… kid? do you always grab stranger's hands without any warnings...? i mean... did you see what just happened? weirdos like me are all over the place.**

Frisk lit up at that and tilted her head, closing her beautiful eyes.

"Well… You're no stranger, are you, now?" As she asked that, he slowly shook his head left and right as he realized that he was completely and utterly wrong about the human in front of him. She seemed so innocent and nice that he suddenly regretted the fact that he had a plan of getting rid of the human as soon as possible before. He cherished the fact that the woman behind the door told him to look after humans, now.

 ***my brother will absolutely adore you*** , he silently said and they started walking towards the town, hand in hand. Frisk didn't want to let go of his hand and the skeleton didn't know if he should feel embarrassed or not as he was walking with her like that and everyone was staring at them. As for Frisk, she didn't even look at anyone else except from him.

* * *

As Toriel entered the kid's room, Flowey turned up again and looked at the mess he caused, proudly smiling.

*Well, that was something. Good thing I managed to SPARE her… if that wasn't the case, I would have missed her expression when she finds out that she's gone…* the flower's face turned into Toriel's, *Oh, no, my child… Where, oh _where coul_ _ **d you be…**_ *, he caused the face to melt and after the act, he burst into wild laughter.

* _ **Oh no, my face is mel…**_ * he suddenly stopped and turned back to his normal self as he saw that a shard of the mirror was right in front of him, reflecting the melting face. His smile faded as he saw it.

*Woah. I'm so good at imitating people that I even managed to scare _myself_ *, he said and sweetly smiled, facing away from the mirror. After a moment, he returned his sight at himself, tilting his small head which was adorned by bright yellow petals in perfect shape, just like nothing had happened before.

*Golly, aren't you a fancy little flower*, he said and straightened himself, looking at his reflection from the side. He stuck his tongue out and winked. Then he faced the shard again.

*No wonder that dorkish skeleton established a Flowey fan club in several timelines*, as he said that, he widely smiled and started to swing left and right. Suddenly, he made a creepy face. Then, he widely smiled, showing sharp teeth and a tongue sticking out. He then tried to act cool, but failed horribly as it looked like he was sick. He frowned and stuck his tongue out, angrily looking away. After a few seconds, he realized he couldn't withstand it and he returned to see his reflection. He then made a normal angry face, realizing his teeth were sticking out.

*…Why didn't I see this before…? Uh… I guess he was right… He always told me to go visit the dentist sooner…* he said and turned his face into Asgore's dying face. He then turned back to normal and started laughing, normally. Then he widely smiled and stared at his reflection. He stared for a few seconds before his smile started disappearing, eventually leaving a frown on his face.

* * *

The child's room was just as messy as always, as clothes and drawings of monsters and flowers were thrown at the floor. She wasn't really good at aiming for the trash can. Toriel's heart skipped another beat as she saw that there was something under the pillow and blanket. She heavily sighed and sweetly smiled, seeing that everything was alright. The white goat monster approached the bed and softly chuckled.

*Oh, dear child… why don't you answer…? I've been worried sick. One day you're going to give me a heart attack that way…* she said and removed the pillow from the supposed child's head, which turned out to be a huge teddy bear's head instead. The mother's weak, hurt hands pulled the teddy bear out, revealing a note super glued to the bear's stomach.

 _'I love you, mom.'_


	7. Chapter 7

*Hiya, Sansy~

*Hey, Sans. Hey… who's that?*

Sans didn't respond, he just squeezed her hand a bit, letting her know that he was a bit afraid of guiding a human through the town. The drop of sweat sliding from the top of his skull indicated that he was nervous as well.

*Yo, Sans. Have you seen your brother… I just wanted him to sign this new scarf of mine…*

He didn't answer as Frisk tried to stop to explain that they were headed to their house, and he had to pull her closer to himself.

Grillby waved his hand at the skeleton and Sans smiled back.

He and the fourteen year old girl were passing through the cold town very quickly and Frisk didn't see much of the townsfolk as Sans seemed to be in a rush, but she didn't really care. She saw more places and people in a day she ever dreamed of seeing. The child's smile just wouldn't go away. Seeing how friendly the people in the village were was making her happy. The atmosphere in the town was cheerful and lively, just like Sans described it to her once. Just like he said, in the middle of the town, there was a big Christmas tree with presents under it. A big, fuzzy monster that looked much like a polar bear was looking at all the presents under the tree excitedly, like he was searching where his one was. The yellow colored monster kid that asked for Sans' brother before joined him and widely smiled. Then he realized he had no hands and that made him laugh. Frisk smiled as well, seeing such a cheerful attitude on the monsters' faces. She then pulled the skeleton's sleeve with her other, free hand and the skeleton looked at her, his smile slightly widening.

 ***what is it, kid?**

"Is it… Christmas time already… or something?" she asked and he closed his eye sockets at that question as his smile got even wider.

 ***oh, no. we keep the tree in the center of the town all the time.**

"Oh…" she looked down at the snow under her boots. It was completely white and looked very fluffy. She then looked back at him, "Why? Is it a tradition?"

 ***nope. not really.**

Frisk blinked as she expected a better answer, so he smiled at her.

 ***just… a thing we like having in the center of the town. it's… usually the center of attention.**

"Sans."

He shrugged his shoulders.

 ***ok. it's… it's just another way of saying that we can still be cheerful, even after getting thrown into this abyss… you know what i mean? like… we were up a tree at that point, and the kids… some of them were out of their tree. the lights seemed to brighten up the kid's days a little, so we kept the decorated fir right there. they really like it. presents are put down the tree when a kid behaves especially nice… it… um… well. sometimes, adults get gifts too before christmas. i'll tell you a little secret.**

He stopped walking and her attention fell only at him as the skeleton suddenly seemed suspiciously serious. She suddenly felt like everything else around them went dark.

 ***you better not tell anybody. ok?**

She shook her head and he finally made her release his hand. He immediately tried to put it back into his pocket, but he soon realized that he wasn't wearing his hoodie anymore, so he just awkwardly put them at his back.

 ***sometimes, when papyrus begs for more action figures of egocentric robots… i dress up as santa and bring them to him.**

Frisk relaxed as she heard that. He widely smiled again.

 ***gotcha, kid,*** he said, but his eye sockets went empty for a second, ***still. don't tell him, ok?**

She slowly nodded and made the skeleton chuckle again.

 ***come on. stop falling for it*** , he said as he saw that she was scared. As she smiled, they continued walking. Sans' steps were small and slow, so she had to put in extra effort not to wander off as her curiousness was growing at each step. The snow around her was dancing in mid air, calling her to try dancing as well, but she knew she had better things to do. She took a quick glance at the building Sans was looking at as they were passing by and immediately asked: "Oh, what's that?"

 ***that's only grillby's, kid. the best place on the planet. if you'll be nice, perhaps i'll take you there one day*** , he said and winked at her, making her smile widely.

They both didn't even bother to look at the library. As Sans stopped, Frisk stopped as well and looked at the wooden, cozy looking house and smiled widely, rubbing her red nose. Light was shining through the window next to her and she could hear some kind of loud, male voice cheerfully sing a fast, catchy tune. At the door, there was a small green wreath, making the door look like it was welcoming the child. Next to the door, there was a string of flashing light bulbs which were coincidentally flashing along the voice's song. She could see that the roof was covered in thick snow. As Sans realized the kid was looking upwards, he had to make another statement.

 ***the roof's covered in shin-gles. papyrus keeps denying that, though.**

Frisk looked at their mailboxes. One was full to the top, and the other one was completely empty.

 ***the boxes, huh? um… i'd really allow you to read that junk mail of mine, but… you never know what's inside, right. overall, it could be a trap. and you'd drown in paper.**

Frisk looked at him as she smiled widely.

"I know how to swim… I was taught before…" she said, but suddenly stopped and Sans realized that. He didn't do anything about her sad expression except trying to be funny again.

 ***still. think of all the paper cuts.**

Frisk rolled her eyes and smiled again as she found his way of talking amusing.

 ***all. the. paper cuts. i'd probably die of a single one. so i don't touch that stuff.**

Frisk just shook her head as she didn't get why he said that, but happily approached him anyways, letting him know that she was ready to step into his house. He tilted his head and nodded.

 ***remember not to say a thing*** , he said one last time. Then, he stepped in front of the door and silently knocked; knowing his brother would flip out if someone would loudly knock while he was singing. He didn't want another couch get thrown out the window for no reason.

… _WHO'S THERE?*_ a loud voice came from the outside and Frisk suddenly got scared again. She trusted Sans when he said his brother was harmless and couldn't even hurt a Moldsmall, but the kid felt sudden pressure and hid behind the short skeleton, bending a little to make sure the other skeleton wouldn't see her.

 ***um… kid?*** Sans asked as she got behind him, making him question her.

 _I… I DEFINITELY WASN'T SINGING. WHY WOULD SOMEONE. EVEN THINK ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT._

Frisk silently snickered and the small skeleton in front of her smiled and looked back.

 ***come on, pap. it's me. just open the door.**

 _OH. SANS… SHOULDN'T YOU BE AT WORK AT THIS TIME?_

 ***what work?**

There was silence for a few seconds.

 _WOW. YOU'RE RIGHT. WAIT A SECOND._

Some weird noises started coming from behind the door. It seemed like the skeleton inside had some problems with crashing plates.

 _FOUND THE KEY… IT… OH. WAIT. WE DON'T HAVE A KEY FOR THE FRONT DOOR._

Sans suddenly flinched.

 ***uh… bro. don't touch that.**

 _WHY NOT?_

* **just open the door, papy.**

The skeleton opened the door and Frisk looked over Sans' shoulder to see a tall, slim skeleton standing at the door. His skull was shaped in a straight, geometrical structure and he was widely smiling, showing his teeth. There was an orange colored cape wrapped around his neck and he was wearing orange gloves which soon started to pet the doorknob. He also had orange boots and blue brief with a golden belt and brown cloth covering his arms and legs. He had a shirt on which had "COOL DUDE" written on it. Frisk couldn't help but to snicker at him. Not because he wasn't cool, but because of the fact that he was somehow adorable.

 _OH MY GOD. SANS! WHERE'S YOUR HOODIE?! YOU'RE GONNA CATCH A COLD! YOU WANT TO CATCH A COLD?!*_ Papyrus worryingly asked and Sans chuckled.

 ***nope.**

 _NOPE?! WHY… WHY ARE YOU MAKING THOSE RESPONSES. WHY. YOU CLEARLY AREN'T CAPABLE OF TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF._

 ***nope.**

 _GOOD THING YOU'VE GOT ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!_

 ***yep.**

 _AH. NOW COME IN. I NEED TO HEAR YOUR OPINION ON THE REDECORATION OF OUR HOUSE._

 ***redecoration? how long have i been gone…?**

Papyrus' expression shifted a little.

 _WELL. LONG ENOUGH, AS USUAL. COME NOW._

 ***um… actually… i've got something to show you*** , he said and stepped into their home, so Frisk tiptoed after him, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible. The cracking of the wood beneath the blue and purple striped carpet beneath her was giving her a hard time, though.

Sans looked around the house. There were no drastic changes at all, except of the plates that were lying all over the floor. He figured that his younger brother practiced his posture again by balancing ten plates of his infamous spaghetti on the skull. And Papyrus couldn't even handle balancing one on his skull. The old green saggy couch was now in the corner and not by the window anymore. Papyrus had moved the table to the window now, which was extremely convenient for Sans, actually. Now he could always throw the inedible food out, if it came to such a bad case of him actually staying at home while Papyrus would cook.

 _I MOVED THE TABLE TO THE WINDOW SO WE COULD ENOY THE SCENERY OUTSIDE. THAT IS, IF YOU EVER GET TO EAT WITH ME… ONE DAY…_

 ***cool.**

 _ANYWAYS, AS YOU MIGHT HAVE REALIZED, I MOVED YOUR JOKE SLASH QUANTUM PHYSICS SLASH JOKE SLASH QUANTUM PHYSICS BOOK. IT'S RIGHT BESIDE YOUR PET ROCK. WHICH YOU FORGOT TO FEED AGAIN. SO I PUT IT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR TO YOUR ROOM. BECAUSE YOU LOCKED IT, FOR SOME REASON._

 ***like i always do.**

 _LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO._

 ***that's nice, bro. i appreciate that. rocky really needs care.**

Papyrus proudly smiled, closed his eye sockets and straightened, letting his cape whirl. He then reopened his sockets and looked at Sans.

 _HOW DO YOU LIKE THE FAN I BOUGHT YESTERDAY, WHEN YOU WERE GONE FOR FAR TOO LONG?*_ he moved a step away to reveal the fan which was standing on a small cupboard, close to the television set.

 ***cool.**

 _I KNOW, RIGHT? NOW I CAN PRACTICE FOR THE BIG MOMENT A HUMAN FINALLY GETS INTO MY GRASP! I WILL THEN CAPTURE THEM. THEY WILL BE TAKEN TO THE CAPITAL. THERE, THEY WILL… PAY FOR NOT GETTING HERE SOONER…?_

Sans looked at the human, then back to his brother.

 ***i… wouldn't rule it out.**

 _OH. BY THE WAY. YOUR SOCK IS STILL WAITING._

 ***heh. no worries, bro. it's got time.**

 _SANS…_

 ***it isn't doing anything anyways.**

 _OH MY GOD, SANS!_

 ***hey. i understand it. somehow, i can relate to that sock. what if it actually has a deeper meaning by lying on the ground just like that… unable to do anything as time goes by…**

Papyrus was just staring at him, so he closed his eye sockets and shrugged his shoulders, trying to put his hands back into his pockets, but he had no pockets, so he just awkwardly let them slide down his shirt.

 ***or not. whatever.**

 _GREAT. ANYWAYS, AS I WAS SAYING… SANS!*_ Papyrus suddenly yelled and Sans almost leaped from the surprise. He put a hand on his chest and sighed.

 ***wow. louder every day, huh?**

 _SANS, WHAT'S THAT BEHIND YOU?!_

 ***oh,*** he said, reached for the kid backwards and pulled the hoodie away from Frisk, cloaking himself with it, ***my hoodie. it's been following me around the whole time, huh? wow. cute.**

 _NO, LAZYBONES! WHAT IS THAT_ _UNDER_ _YOUR HOODIE._

 ***don't you recognize your bro, bro? bro…*** Sans said and widely smiled, narrowing his eye sockets. Papyrus' smile started to turn into a frown.

 _UGH… NO! BUT. BUT! BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION… OH! COULD IT BE? MY ONE TRUE- UM… I MEAN! HUMAN?!_

 ***…bro.**

… _BRO?_ _  
_ ***…bro. i'll throw that tv out of the window. it'll roll down into the dumps. where it will stay. down in the dumps.**

None of the skeleton brothers said anything for a few seconds.

… _COULD IT BE A HUMAN?!_

As Papyrus asked that, Frisk straightened herself and took a step forward to greet the tall skeleton. She shyly waved her hand at the skeleton and he, in fear and surprise, jumped and landed at the table, where he put his palms at his face while his legs were shaking in an unprofessional, unreal fashion.

 _OH MY! IT_ _IS_ _A HUMAN!_

"Hello…" she silently said and suddenly felt her soul trying to escape. She wasn't familiar with that feeling anymore, but she remembered when she last had it, when she met the little golden flower. She quite disliked the fact that she loved the feeling.

 _HUMAN! PREPARE FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! FOR TROUBLE WITH THE MIGHTY PAPYRUS, THE VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN… NOTE THAT I'M NOT A ROYAL GUARDSMAN YET. BUT STILL,*_ he looked away for a moment _*OH, AND YOU SHOULD PROBABLY PREPARE FOR A DOG STEALING BONES FROM ME. IT IS A THING HERE,*_ he said and proudly smiled again, putting his arms at his hips, _*YOU THOUGH COOKIE PROBABLY OVERHEARD OUR TALKING ABOUT ME CAPTURING YOU AND DELIVERING YOU TO THE COUNCIL. AFTER THAT, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE EACH OTHER ANY LONGER… AND DATING YOU WILL SURELY BE KIND OF HARD. WAIT, NO. THAT SPEECH WASN'T MEANT FOR NOW… I… I… WAIT A SECOND. I THINK I MESSED SOMETHING UP. COULD YOU BE SO KIND TO LOOK AWAY FOR A MOMENT? IT SURELY WON'T TAKE LONG. THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T DO LONG._

As he said that, he snatched a small handbook and began reading some random lines. Frisk looked at Sans who just smiled and shrugged his shoulders while his hands were in his pockets again.

 ***that's my brother*** , he said and his smile widened.

 _AH, WHATEVER!*_ the tall skeleton stated and threw the handbook away, _*HUMAN! I WILL NOW START THE BATTLE! DO NOT HOLD ANYTHING BACK! I WON'T AS WELL, YOU CAN BE SURE ABOUT THAT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!_

 _Frisk's soul began bouncing around rapidly. The battle started. Papyrus was there, standing on the table. Not knowing what to do, she checked him. His attack was 8. His defense was 2._

 _The skeleton started an attack, but she just stood there as she literally couldn't move around from all the plates lying all around the floor. Still, nothing happened as the bones were blue. As she felt no HP taken away, she proudly smiled as she thought she accomplished something great. After a second, she felt her soul gaining on weight and it fell down to the floor. It was blue colored. As she just stayed there, Papyrus took a bone and threw it into her direction. The bone hit the kid and she fell down, dipping her hand in spaghetti sauce which was on a plate next to her. She looked around herself to spot a place she could rub the sauce on, so her hand wouldn't be that sticky anymore and she was a little afraid for her skin because of all the stories Sans had told her about Papyrus' cooking._

 _OH, HOW NAÏVE, HUMAN. THE SHOW ABOUT WASHING HANDS IS ONLY ON WEDNESDAYS. SO STAY TUNED… UM!_

 _Bonetrousle started._

 _Frisk tried to Mercy the bad cook. He just kept on thinking about his lines which were getting more and more messed up. He didn't think a human would come right at him, so he didn't get prepared._

 _NO… NO! I MEANT… GAH! I MESSED EVERYTHING UP ALREADY._

 _Saying that, he threw a few bones at Frisk, but this time, she managed to dodge all of his attacks. She got dangerously close to him in the process, though. Still, the skeleton was too concerned for his image to even realize that Frisk was close._

 _Frisk tried to Flirt. But Papyrus' thought was somewhere else._

 _UM… SHOULD I ACT NATURAL?_

 _A few bones came flying towards Frisk and she was sure she couldn't dodge the attack, but Sans helped her out by blocking his brother's bones with a big one of his. Papyrus didn't seem to notice._

 _Frisk tried the Mercy button again. Papyrus didn't notice that as well._

 _HUMAN! WE ARE LEGION!_

"What?" _Frisk asked._

 ***what?*** Sans asked.

 _ARRGH! STOP CONFUSING ME…_

 _Papyrus didn't attack that turn. As Frisk thought he Spared her, she tried to Spare him as well. But nothing happened._

 _OKIE-DOKIE! LET'S SEE HOW HIGH YOU CAN JUMP!*_ _he said and threw a few big bones at her. She managed to dodge all of them. Papyrus dabbed MTT-Brand Bishie Cream behind his ear._

 _Frisk tried to Spare._

 _HOLD 'UP' LONGER TO JUMP HIGHER! GEEZ…_

 _She dodged his attacks again, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. He looked quite amazed. Papyrus dabbed MTT-Brand Cute Juice behind his ear._

 _She tried to Flirt so she could make him know that he was finally being himself. But he was too focused on battling her._

 _I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!_

 _Another bone attack came towards her, and she dodged it again. Papyrus seemed even more impressed. Papyrus dabbed MTT-Brand Beauty Yogurt behind his ear._

 _Frisk Spared him. Tried to, at least._

 _PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGETTORE… SANS, WHAT ARE YOU-_

 _Sans came to his brother and reached for all of the MTT-branded products his brother had behind his ear, which he didn't have. Sans narrowed his eye sockets at his brother who looked a little embarrassed as Sans was holding a huge pile of products. Sans then quietly left the battle, leaving only Frisk and Papyrus again._

 _Bonetrousle intensified._

 _As Frisk just stared, she wasted her turn and Papyrus widely smiled._

 _NYEH HEH HEH! THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!_

 _Another bone attack came, which missed Frisk. Papyrus suddenly frowned, realizing he was rooting for his own demise and failure. Papyrus took out MTT-Brand Attraction Slime and sadly put it into Sans' hand which was reaching out to him._

 _As Frisk didn't know what to do with the confused skeleton, she grabbed her lucky stick she still had with herself from the day she fell into the Underground. The child called Papyrus' name and he excitedly looked at the stick. She threw the stick at his face, but missed because she still wasn't good at aiming. Still, Papyrus jumped down the table, threw it over and broke another dozen of plates filled with inedible spaghetti. He then brought the stick back to Frisk in his mouth. The girl petted the skeleton's skull. Sans in the background rolled his pupils._

 _The tall skeleton put the table back at its legs and jumped up it again, whispering "Nyeh heh heh!"_

 _HUMAN! I REALLY LIKE YOUR STYLE… AND YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS… WHICH ARE HIGH! I TELL YOU WHAT. IF YOU MANAGE TO CATCH THIS BONE WITH YOUR MOUTH, I SHALL END THIS UNPREDICTABLE CHARADE!_

 _Frisk just blinked as a huge bone appeared in Papyrus' hand. She wondered how he could even hold it up. Then, the skeleton threw the bone towards the human, who wasn't crazy, so she dodged the attack and the bone flew right through the window, hitting someone outside. Papyrus put his gloves over his mouth._

 _Bonetrousle stopped._

 _Papyrus is Sparing her. She Spared him back._

 _Frisk got 0 XP and 0 G. But she got a thumb up from Sans._

 _NYOOH HOOH HOOH….*_ that was the only thing the skeleton could say after being defeated by the mere human child.


	8. Chapter 8

_D_ _EFEATED BY SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU… I… I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD IF IT ALL CONTINUES LIKE THIS…_

Frisk smiled at the tall skeleton which suddenly fell at his knees while still on the table. She then reached out to him and softly stroked his skull.

"There there… Everything will be fine…"

Papyrus suddenly raised his head to look at the teenage kid in wonder.

 _WAIT… DID YOU JUST… COMFORT ME…? ME? THE SKELETON THAT NEVER GETS HIS WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION…?_

Frisk smiled and nodded her head, closing her beautiful, shining eyes.

"Sure… you're really nice."

 _AH! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT!*_ Papyrus said, got down from the table and suddenly pulled Frisk up, holding her in his boney arms, * _SANS, ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A HUMAN?_

 ***no.**

Papyrus blinked as he held the confused child. She wasn't really happy about him holding her in the air as she could almost reach the ground anyways.

 ***i know it, actually.**

The guardsman-wannabe looked at the girl again, tilted his head and slightly smiled.

 _BUT THIS HUMAN DOESN'T LOOK MENACING AT ALL, DEAR BROTHER. IN FACT, THEY LOOK QUITE… FRIENDLY?_

"I… why, thank you. You look quite friendly as well", Frisk said and Papyrus left her down, clenching his hands together and holding them by his chest.

 _ANOTHER COMPLIMENT! HUMAN! THAT MEANS… THAT I MUST GO ON A DATE WITH YOU!*_ Papyrus widely smiled and put his hands at his hips, *YES, HUMAN! WE SHALL GO ON A… RENDEZVOUS. YES. AND THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL HAVE WILL… PROBABLY BE MORE THAN RATHER SMALL! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM AN EXCELLENT DATER!

 ***he was never on a date before*** , Sans whispered into Frisk's ear and she giggled a little.

 _SANS! STOP PLAGUING THE CHILD WITH LIES ABOUT MY EXCELLENCE! WHICH IS DEFEINITELY REAL! YOU WERE SAYING IT YOURSELF FOR ALL MY LIVE AS WELL!_

Sans chose to ignore that remark.

 ***as said, never*** , Sans whispered again and Papyrus frowned.

 _I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING, YOU BONEHEAD._

 ***i know, buddy,*** he said and winked, ***that's why i'm saying it at the first place.***

Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets.

 _WELL. YOUR PUNS… ARE NOT FUNNY._

 ***i know, they are more… punny*** , the skeleton said, winked and spread his arms out. The child felt compelled to clap, for some reason.

 _NO. THEY ARE TERRIBLE._

 ***don't you mean… tearrible?*** Sans responded and spread his arms out again, earning another applause from the child. Papyrus then got to the human and took her by the hand, pulling her closer to himself.

 _STOP STEALING MY HUMAN. I FOUND IT FIRST._

 ***ok.**

 _GO DO SOME… WORK OR SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW._

 ***hey, pap.**

 _WHAT?  
_ ***a bus station is where a bus stops, am i right?**

Papyrus' eye sockets narrowed.

 _UM… SURE?_

 ***a train station is where a train stops, or?**

Papyrus frowned.

 _WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS, SANS? I HAVE THE FEELING THAT I DON'T REALLY WANT TO HEAR IT…_

 ***on my desk, i have a work station…**

Papyrus didn't even want to respond on that, but the human suddenly started laughing, so he sighed and smiled as well. Suddenly, Frisk sneezed and Papyrus' smile immediately left his somewhat cute face. He puffed his chest out and raised his index finger to respond to the human's sneeze: _HUMAN! I SEE_ _YOU_ _ARE THE ONE WHO CAUGHT A COLD. SO! I WILL MAKE YOU SOME TEA! DO NOT FRET, PERSON WHOM I WANTED TO DATE A FEW MOMENTS AGO EVEN IF I DIDN'T KNOW YOUR NAME! I WILL! MAKE YOU! THE BEST TEA YOU HAVE EVER TASTED IN YOUR LIFE!_

Saying that, he practically walked through the air to get to the small kitchen. Before entering it, he looked at Sans and said: _OH. COULD YOU… PERHAPS… CLEAN THE FLOOR?_ _*_ , he cutely smiled as Sans just blinked, obviously not wanting to do anything at that point, _*PLEASE. I'D… REALLY APPRECIATE THAT._

Sans just stared at him for a moment. A drop of sweat appeared on Papyrus' skull.

 _WELL. I'M OFF THEN._

Saying that, he went to the kitchen and started to break something again. Sans still waited a little for his brother to return.

 _NYEH*_ , Papyrus said as he looked at them again, dumbly smiling. Then he got into the kitchen again.

As his brother left, Sans just sighed and widely smiled, looking at the kid.

 ***good job there, kiddo. for a second, i was really worried you'd fight him… but i'm glad that turned out to be just a mistake of mine.**

Frisk blinked at that and looked down to face the short skeleton whose head went up to meet her eyes. He widened his smile even more, to the point that he had to close his eye sockets.

"Why would you think that…?" she worryingly asked, feeling a little guilty, although she didn't know why.

 ***oh, nothing. just that… for a second, you seemed happy to enter a fight… just like your soul was bouncing to get out on the floor, y'know?**

Frisk didn't respond, so the skeleton chuckled, but didn't seem very happy.

 ***anyways. guess we should… start cleaning this mess up?**

Frisk slightly smiled and nodded her head. Then she went on to pick up the broken plates full of Papyrus' bad spaghetti. Sans was watching her for a moment before he chuckled again.

 ***man, kid. you really don't get jokes yet, do you?*** as he said that, he raised his left hand as his eye socket started glowing blue again. The child looked at him as he winked at her. Then, she felt herself fly upwards, together with dozens of Papyrus' culinary fails. He picked up all of them at the same time, actually. He took his other hand out of his pocket as well to hold Frisk up while throwing all the plates out of the broken window. The well-raised child looked angrily at him.

"Why are you doing this? Mom always said you have to clean up after yourself for real, not just shove it under the bed."

As she said that, he sweetly smiled.

 ***do i look like your mom?**

She put her hands over her rosy face to hide her wide smile. She didn't get why his bad jokes were so funny to her.

 ***and, to add more to this interesting little story, kid, this is not a bed. it is a window. the difference? ...welp. i have no clue. in this house, everything breaks sooner or later.**

Frisk revealed her wide smile to him, so he smiled back. But he still didn't look happy.

"Good point."

 ***yep. i know. anyways, isn't it cool, or something?**

Frisk suddenly looped in the air as she realized it was quite fun to be like that.

"It really is!" as she said that, she tried to go even higher, but the skeleton brought her to the couch and let her fall down on it. She yelped a little. He then slowly started approaching the child and also raised the table into the air, putting it in front of her. As he reached her, he leaped up and sat on the cozy old couch, letting his body sink into the softness of it.

 ***speaking of cool… what do you think of my brother?*** he asked as he put his feet on the table, crossing his legs. Till then, she didn't realize he was walking around in some old, grayish blue fluffy slippers which were wet from all of the snow he was walking through. She slightly smiled and lowered her eyebrows. After a few seconds, she looked down.

"Well he's… he's, uh… weird."

She could feel her soul tremble for a moment as he didn't move an inch for a second.

 ***hey, bud. he's… he's been through a lot these days. don't blame him for not knowing how to react to seeing a human for the first time. it got him a little… carried away.**

Frisk looked at him again as she sunk into the sofa as well, so that he appeared taller than her again. She looked at him expecting a stern face, but he was still smiling, for some reason. The skeleton was looking right at her as well.

 ***hey, kiddo. don't you know how to relax? kick your feet up and enjoy while you can. pap's gonna come in any time now.**

She did as he instructed and looked back at him.

 ***time for another story, ain't it? welp. papyrus tried real hard, okay? it's been a decade since i saw him smile as nicely as he did before, when he saw you. he's been… not just down lately. he's been real depressed. the first few years were still fine, he was doing his best and everything, but after some time… he couldn't really bear it anymore. the head of the royal guard won't let him into the guard… claiming he's too soft. and you know what? that's… that's the complete truth. my bro here… he's not meant for fighting. not that he can't. he's actually real good. unlike me, i can't even manage to get off the couch sometimes…*** he said and sweetly smiled, so she artificially smiled back.

 ***the singing you heard before… it wasn't really something that's indicating happiness. he's… quite lonely, actually. and i'm not much around. that's why he watches that tv all the time. recently, he's been obsessing over the robot that runs all the shows, so no wonder he started to write whole scripts for the moment a human arrives… and don't make me start talking about all the stuff he buys, as a fan. though…the only thing he really wanted was to see a** **human** **, so he'd get into the guard. he's been trying for over a decade now, frisk. and i saw him trying to find humans over undernet too. man. the only thing he found was a human fan website run by… um. anyways. he's been trying writing letters to santa as well, talking about how much he would love to see a human for christmas… it hurt reading that letter. i couldn't do a thing. i… even heard him cry one night, afraid he'd never get to fulfill his dream. so don't be harsh to him, k? he's… he's everything that i…**

Frisk slowly blinked as he sighed, his smile appearing on his face again.

 ***heh. forgetaboutit.**

Frisk looked back down. She didn't look happy anymore as well, so Sans put his arm over her shoulder.

 ***hey, kiddo. it's not your fault that you didn't come out of that door earlier… sure, he wouldn't be obsessing that much and would probably act in a more natural, mature way, but.**

She was silent.

 ***what's that expression supposed to mean?*** he asked and smiled, ***am i wrong?***

At that moment, the tall skeleton popped in and widened his eye sockets as he saw that everything around him was clean like nothing ever happened before. He blinked a few times before widely smiling.

 _WOWIE! SANS! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD STILL BE OF SOME USE! THAT'S SO GREAT!_

 ***everything for you, bro,*** he said and Frisk could feel his glance at her for a moment.

 _I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, BIG BROTHER! I'D GIVE YOU A HUG… BUT I'M TOO BUSY CARRYING THE TEA ON MY HEAD, SO…_

In both of his hands, there were tea cups which seemed to contain steaming hot tea. On his skull, there was another cup which he was carefully balancing. The nice, flowery smell was reaching to Frisk and she could tell it was nothing like the spaghetti. There was a white apron with yellow flowers drawn on it tied around his waist as well. He apparently needed that for making tea, not for cooking spaghetti.

 _SEE? I TOLD YOU IT WOULD COME IN HANDY, ONE DAY!_

As Papyrus said that, Sans smiled and tilted his head.

 ***good call, bro.**

Papyrus wanted to smile proudly, but suddenly frowned as he saw that Sans moved the table to get his wet, dirty slippers onto the smooth wooden texture of the table.

 _SANS! YOU'RE GOING TO RUIN THE WOOD! AND WHY WOULD YOU TEACH THE HUMAN TO DO THAT AS WELL?!_

 ***oh. sorry, bro. i forgot.** **wood** **you like to take up some place as well?**

Papyrus frowned.

 ***hey. your loss.**

The younger skeleton cheerfully smiled again and elegantly brought the tea to the table. As soon as he gently put the hot cup of tea into the child's hands, he forcefully pushed his brother's legs off the table. Sans just widely smiled as he got a cup of tea anyways. The one on his head was meant for Papyrus himself. The tall skeleton sat on the floor, crossed his legs and put the cup right in front of him, at the table.

 _YOU CAN TRY IT… IT'S NOT THAT HOT…*_ he shyly said and smiled as the girl tilted her head at him and smiled widely as well. Something on her smile was reminding him of himself.

Sans put his hand away from her shoulder and grabbed his cup as well, warming his hands. He wasn't planning on drinking the tea.

 ***you, um… frisk. you can always drink it. no worries. i drank it and survived. as you can see.**

Hearing this, the child happily gulped the tea. It was quite hot, but everything else tasted rather good, actually.

 _SO? YOU LIKE IT? IT'S UNDYNE'S RECIPE… GOLDEN FLOWER TEA._

" _Golden… flower…"_ she whispered before spitting the beverage out of her mouth, right onto the table. She just watched the liquid stay on the table for a moment before facing the skeleton who was looking at the liquid as it was slowly dropping down the table, onto the carpet. His eye sockets narrowed as he looked a little sad, but his smile was still there.

 _IS IT… NOT GOOD…?_

She looked at Sans who was just staring at her before she returned her look to the skeleton who was eagerly awaiting her answer.

"It… is. It's really great, actually."

 _OH… WHY DID YOU SPIT IT OUT THEN? YOU DON'T NEED TO LIE TO ME, HUMAN! I CAN TAKE IT, BE HONEST WITH ME! DON'T THROW EVERYTHING AWAY FOR ME, HUMAN…_

As he posed dramatically, putting his hand at the center of his forehead and leaning back a little, he looked at his brother whose eye sockets were narrowed. He then returned to his normal self.

 _NO. BUT… YOU CAN BE HONEST WITH ME*_ he said and softly smiled.

"It's great… it just reminded me of something… or rather of someone…" she silently said and earned another quick glance from the older brother.

 _WOWIE! SO I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE! ANYWAYS, I'M SO FLATTERED YOU ENJOY MY TEA! I WAS REALLY WORKING MYSELF DOWN TO THE BONE WHILE LEARNING HOW TO…*_ he quickly glanced at Sans to see that his brother in a blue hoodie was staring right at him, with a wide, happy smile on his face.

 ***dude.**

 _NO._

 ***oh yes.**

 _OH NO. SANS. PLEASE STOP. I BEG OF YOU._

 ***well. blue means stop.**

Papyrus was watching him for a few seconds before he returned his gaze at the human child he absolutely adored now that she said she liked his tea. He thought about the date he wanted to go on with her, and realized she'd be gaining a lot of dating power if that was the date right now. He was glad he didn't go on a date now, as he didn't want to get defeated. He then shook his head to get back to reality.

 _ANYWAYS, HUMAN… OR SHOULD I SAY… FRIEND?*_ he happily said, so she widely smiled, * _I HAVEN'T EVEN ASKED FOR YOUR NAME? WOULD YOU MIND TELLING ME?_

"I'm Frisk," she happily said and saw the skeleton's big smile getting even bigger, "nice to meet you."

Papyrus squealed a little from happiness before answering: _THE PLEASURE IS ALL MINE, FRISK. WELL. NO. IT'S YOURS, TOO. SEEING SUCH A COOL GUY MAKES YOU FEEL SPECIAL, RIGHT?_

 ***don't ruin the moment, pap.**

Papyrus just looked at him as he said that, and then back at the girl whose response he was eagerly waiting for.

"Guess so", she stated and Papyrus happily swung as he heard that, but soon, his expression shifted. He suddenly looked sad.

 _WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL UNDYNE NOW, THOUGH? THAT I BEFRIENDED A HUMAN INSTEAD OF CAPTURING ONE…? I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD, THEN…_

He looked down for a moment, and then back at her, slightly smiling.

 _SHE THINKS THAT YOU HUMANS ARE BAD, YOU KNOW…? I THOUGHT SO TOO, BUT… UPON MEETING YOU, FRISK, I NOW REALIZE IT'S NOT LIKE THAT._

He then frowned again.

 _HER OPINION OF HUMANS IS, HOWEVER, PRETTY… MURDERY. BUT I'LL DO MY BEST TO EXPLAIN TO HER THAT IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!*_ he looked angry and determined, all of a sudden.

"No need, I don't really want to…"

 _FEAR NOT, HUMAN! I SHALL TALK HER OUT OF IT! JUST WAIT AND SEE… I'LL BE BACK SOON. I PROMISE. AND THEN I'LL COOK YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU'D EVER NEED._

As he said that, he rushed out of the door, leaving the two of them behind. Frisk blinked a few times before looking back at Sans, who calmly put his feet back up at the table. As Frisk was looking at him, he shrugged his shoulders.

 ***what? it's already ruined by your spitting game, why try now?*** he stated and winked at her.

 _SANS!*_ he heard a distant voice coming from the outside, but decided it was not worth listening to it. After all, showing up would lead to him having to deal with all the broken plates all over again. Only that time, he wouldn't be able to use magic and would actually have to use his arms.

"I… don't really get it… Why he rushed out to tell that Undyne… I mean. It's not like she's hunting for humans all the time. Right?"

Sans looked away.

"Right?" Frisk worryingly repeated, making Sans return his sight to her.

 ***... listen, kid. the old lady wasn't keeping you locked in there for no reason.**

"You mean they're going to…"

 ***no, no. my bro's, like, really close to her. in a weird, culinary way. he won't allow her to hurt you… and i kinda have to help him as well. cause someone really cares about you, kid…**

She remained silent for a moment, but then decided to ask another question.

"I… just don't get it. Why do you hunt humans…? I know your history and all, but… there has to be more, right?"

 ***...buddy,*** he closed his eye sockets to breath in heavily before reopening them, ***you'll learn everything on time. but i'm not supposed to explain. trust me.***

She blinked a few times before he slowly got up and managed to walk up to the door, opening it and thus indicating that the child should leave as well. She slowly stood up and walked up to him, looking him in the eyes. Sans suddenly smiled wider.

 ***hey. don't look at me like that, with those puppy eyes of yours… everything's gonna be fine. after all, i'm keeping an eye socket out for ya*** he winked and pet the child's head. He had to stand up at his tiptoes to do that, though.

 ***you'll do fine, kid. i'm rootin' for ya.**

She widely smiled and hugged him again, making him flinch. He soon smiled, though, and continued stroking her soft hair.

 ***heh. you gotta stop hugging strangers as well. weirdos are out there, kid. and out there, there's not just whoopee cushions. there's seahorses, talking flowers, annoying dogs, self-proclaimed stars… dangers as well. you don't have it so nice like we have it here in snowdin town everywhere, kid. but, wherever you are, i'll be keepin' an eye socket out for ya, as i said.**

"Thanks, Sans…" she silently said as she was squeezing the little skeleton who didn't really seem to appreciate her though hold.

 ***come on, kid. stop being a kid and get out there before papyrus does something dumb again, ok? and… um… hey. may i ask of you to keep a promise?**

The kid slowly nodded her head, not wanting to let the skeleton go, for some reason.

 ***you keep an eye out for my bro. don't let him talk to strangers and robots, fine?**

She finally parted from him and he put his hands back into his hoodie pockets, right there where they belonged. She smiled.

 ***oh. and… no matter what, keep him safe, ok?**

"I will", she said and widely smiled, clenching her hands and playfully swinging. The skeleton narrowed his right eye socket and slightly bended forward, showing his little finger.

 ***pinky swear?**

Frisk cutely smiled.

"Pinky swear", she repeated and gladly entwined her pinky with his.

 ***pinky, pinky bow-bell, whoever tells a lie will have a bad time and never rise up again*** , he said and she smiled at that. Then, she parted from him and ran out of the house, stopping for a second to look back at him. He sweetly smiled and saluted.

 ***counting on ya, frisk.**

She answered him with a simple smile and ran off into the cold white snow. He was looking into her direction as long as she didn't disappear. The snow was falling down uncontrollably, as usual. The kids were running around, the adults were just minding their own business, the scent of cinnamon buns was in the air… everything was the same as usual in the small, happy town… but everything was also different upon her arrival. And although Sans trusted her with all of his being, there was still a small ache in his chest as she left. He knew that the kid was innocent and really nice, but something was bothering him. A feeling he couldn't shake off. So he frowned as he leaned at the door, still looking at kids that were happily chasing each other around the tree. Then, the Monster Kid knocked over Papyrus' gift, and the pupils in Sans' eye sockets disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

_***i**_ _ **f i only knew what was about to happen… i could easily determine if that kid's a real friend or not…***_ he thought as he was watching the childish little monsters running around the town, having a snow ball fight. He was watching them for a long time, just because he didn't feel like moving away from the door. Frisk had been gone for four hours by then, but he didn't feel like looking away from the monsters that were ignorant about the fact that a human was lurking around their town. He wished he could be just like them… but the task he was given was far more important than fun. He was sitting on the doorstep, smiling like he would always do. He was deeply concerned and in deep thought, so he was unable to see a snowball flying right towards his face. However, he, even though he didn't see it coming, easily dodged the big snowball and looked ahead of himself to spot three little monsters staring right at him. There was a small, yellow kid with brown stripes on its body and a wide smile which was practically shouting out: 'sorry'. Next to him, there was a white, fuzzy, bearlike monster who was looking a little scared. And next to the big bear, there was a tiny mouse with a huge scarf wrapped around its neck. The mouse monster was looking at the snow under his black boots.

*Oh… We're sorry, Sans… um… Yo. You'll forgive us for that, right?* the Monster Kid asked and Sans' smile widened.

 _ *****_ **sure. but you've gotta try a little harder than that, though.**

*I told you I shouldn't have played with you… Look what I did*, the tiny mouse monster said and Sans finally decided to stand up, heavily sighing, like he had big problems doing that. He still didn't move away from the door, though.

 ***i meant you'd have to try harder to hit me*** , he widely smiled and the white bear sighed in relief with his deep, relaxing voice.

*Just… don't tell your brother, k? I'm… I'd…*

 ***yeah, i know, kid. you tell that to me every day*** , Sans said as the Monster Kid tried to say how much he was inspired by Papyrus' ambition and dedication. Sans then finally stretched his legs and walked towards the kids happily standing there as the snowflakes were slowly falling around them, telling the story of hundreds of clouds.

*Yeah… I really like Undyne, but… that cool dude… he's just someone whom I'd like to be like when I grow up…* the Monster Kid said and Sans pressed his hand on top of the kid's head, who in response chuckled. He then knelt down on one knee to face the kid's smiling face.

 ***you're really lucky to have pap around you, aren't you? welp. just like me, buddy*** he then removed his boney hand from the child's spiky head.

*Oh. By the way… do you know where I can get one of those cool scarves? It'd be really practical if…* Sans just turned him around and pushed him away a little to make him stop talking.

 ***go play, kid*** , he said as the thought of losing his brother came to his mind again. He just stood there again, not being able to move for a while.

* * *

*Yo, man… Sans' so cool as well… Why didn't I ever notice that? Nyeh heh heh* the Monster Kid said and the mouse monster with the long black boots and a huge scarf came running to him.

*I… think he's scary…*

*Scary? He's like the nicest and funniest guy in Snowdin. The skeleton really loves his bro as well… One day, as I was searching for that present of mine under the tree… he-*

*He vanished*, the mouse monster said and the kids turned around to see the mouse looking at the spot where Sans stood a few second ago.

*Um… he went back to the house, dude…?* Monster Kid stated and the monster with the scarf looked up at him.

*Did you see how slow he's moving? He'd need another minute to get inside the house… We turned around for, like, ten seconds and he just…*

*Oh, come on, dude. Here, catch…* the yellow kid stopped moving as he realized he couldn't throw a snowball, for he had no hands, *Just keep walking, k?* he said and they soon continued their game.

* * *

*...

 ***it's nothing, grillbz.**

*...

 ***just a bottle of ketchup. i'm on a diet today.**

Grillby was just looking at him as Sans said that. Sans was waiting for a response as his eye sockets were narrowed from the wide smile he had on his face, awaiting for the fiery monster to emote. He didn't, so Sans rolled his pupils and leaned at the bar counter in front of him.

 ***c'mon. i don't have the stomach for anything else.**

Grillby was still staring at him before he just left him to get the bottle of ketchup his most loyal customer asked for. The skeleton sighed.

Grillbys wasn't as full as usual that day. There was just the skeleton in the blue hoodie, the usual drunk bunny which tried to flirt with him upon entering the bar and the Lesser Dog that still played poker against itself. For a minute, it looked like it was winning. Then, the dog started losing again. Sans just sighed as he knew hanging around at that place wasn't going to help him in any way, but he didn't know what else to do.

The atmosphere in the bar was pretty calming as usual. The scent of various mixtures of drinks was filling up the area, but Sans never even noticed it as he had no nose. It was warm in there, so warm, in fact, that Sans had to keep himself from closing his eye sockets. That place was always a good choice to go to when it was really cold outside. It was always completely lit as well.

As Grillby came back, he realized there was a frown on Sans' face. Still, he didn't say anything, like usual. The fiery bartender put the red bottle right in front of Sans' face, whose expression turned happy again.

 ***thanks.**

After a few seconds of just staring at the bottle of ketchup and getting warmed up by the heat coming from the barman's head, he sat up again and took the bottle into his trembling fingers. He then slowly raised the bottle towards his teeth and drank it all up by taking one sip. As the comedian realized that the bartender with glasses was looking oddly at him, he put the bottle back down and wiped some ketchup off his mouth.

 ***i'm fine, grillby. you can keep heating the place up, now*** , Sans said and smiled widely again, expecting some kind of response from Grillby. Yet, the bartender just shook his head.

 ***hey. i'm fine, ok?**

*...

Sans kept staring at him.

*...

Sans didn't look away for a second.

*... are you sure?

Sans suddenly looked down as his smile disappeared.

 ***no.**

Grillby, as all the great bartenders would do, grabbed a rag from one of the shelves behind him and started to clean the bar counter as Sans got comfortable on his extra large chair which he requested but hadn't paid for yet. The skeleton watched the fiery monster rub the counter with a dried up rag for a moment before closing his tired eye sockets, heavily sigheing.

 ***so… there's this human.**

Grillby stopped his cleaning session for a moment. After a second, he continued.

 ***she's… she's um, new here.**

Grillby suddenly reached for a small package he had at the bottom shelf behind him. As he stood up, he offered the plastic package to the short skeleton, which was looking at him with a sad expression on his face.

*... you might need those.

As Grillby said that, Sans took the package of marshmallows out of his warm, gloved hand and grabbed the stick he kept from Frisk's and Papyrus' battle before. It still had Papyrus' MTT Brand Attraction Slime on it, but Sans didn't really care. He then opened the small plastic bag, took one of the spongy confections out, angrily stabbed the stick through the marshmallow and held it up closer to Grillby's head. He lowered himself a little so the skeleton's hand could actually reach his fire.

 ***you know the old lady i was talking about the other day? guess what. she was keeping a human in that house of hers. like, seriously.**

*... just like you predicted.

Sans nodded his head and the dog suddenly stopped playing against itself as it felt the tension in the room rising.

 ***that human, though. she's… not like i thought she'd be… the kid's different. no. she's not such a kid anymore, i guess. not scary, not killing anybody, cheerful, innocent… and i… i'd really like to trust her, but something… something seems off.**

*too nice?

 ***** _ **way**_ **too nice*** , Sans nodded and took the marshmallow away from the fire. He huffed a little and looked away from the people in the bar to squeeze the thing through his teeth. That lasted for a minute. After that, he returned to face Grillby and leaned on the counter again.

 ***i haven't felt like that for a long time… the other humans which i met, they weren't like her at all. this one has it in her. that power of resetting everything and bending it to her own will. every time she looks at me, i see that power. that small twinkle in her colorful eyes. that ferocity behind that children's naïve mask. a power level above 9000…*** the skeleton smiled, but figured Grillby didn't get the reference as he still didn't respond, ***a high power level, ok? the others… they gave up their souls after a time and… welp. the king picked them up like it was no biggie.**

*... i thought you know your powers and limits, sans.

Sans widely smiled as he looked back at the fiery man, secretly squeezing the package of marshmallows into his pocket.

 ***yeah. the thing 'bout that.**

*...

 ***i kinda promised that old lady to look after the kid…**

*... good job.

 ***hey. it wasn't my fault.**

*...

 ***now… you know i hate making promises. but that lady, though… she laughed at my jokes. she really cared. and… you know.**

*...

 ***one day, she was in a really bad mood. that was the day the kid's cover blew. i didn't know it really** _ **was**_ **a human back then. so i kept talking to the kid day after day… i got to know her… she got to know me. i thought she's really nice. the way she talked, the way she laughed… heh. just like that lady. i thought :"hey. she's nice. i'll help her out". and… then i freed her. i soon realized that she was a human and immediately regretted for being her pal… because of the duty i bear.**

Grillby was silent.

 ***anyways. the lady asked me to protect her… even if it meant going hand by hand into… pure genocide.**

*... ...wow. that's rough, buddy.

Sans smiled.

 ***the point is that i can't defeat her now. or even try to.**

*...

 ***what's even worse…*** he sweetly smiled, ***i don't even want to…**

Grillby sighed at that and leaned at the counter as well, facing the small skeleton.

*you say she isn't a threat... why would you be so scared, then?

Sans suddenly widened his eye sockets after which he looked down at the counter.

 ***is it… that obvious?**

Grillby stood up again and realigned his black bowtie and glasses.

*no. but i know you. you're not as 'punny' today.

 ***hey. don't you go insulting my bad jokes now, grillbz. i'm vulnerable.**

Grillby apparently didn't respond to that, but Sans knew him very well, so he figured that Grillby smiled at that. That's why the skeleton's smile got bigger. The smile stayed there for some time, but it soon vanished again as the image of his brother came to his mind. He couldn't tell anyone that he feared of losing his brother. That would seem ridiculous. He figured it was time to leave as his mind couldn't stop thinking about his cool younger brother.

 ***um… may i have another bottle?*** he asked as Grillby put the rag back at the shelf behind him. The fire person slowly nodded his head and went back to the storage room to get some more ketchup for his short skeleton friend. When he returned, he was already gone and the flames on his head got a bit smaller. He looked left to see that the drunk bunny passed out on the couch, but that happened too often for him to care. Then he looked at his right to see the dog weeping as it lost against itself again. Grillby realigned his glasses and then looked at the counter.

*... where's my candy.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sans to arrive back at home as he didn't need to use his feet to get there, now that it was already late and anybody was outside anymore. The skeleton let his smiling mask fall down, revealing a sad, depressed grimace behind it. He was unrecognizable this way, and he knew that. He knew if his brother would see him like that, he could never look at him with the same, angry face again. He knew Papyrus would put him in front of anything else, then. But he didn't want his brother to care. He didn't want him to get involved into the mess Sans was in, as a scientist.

The skeleton with a frown on his face sloppily put his white carpal bones and tips of his fingers onto the door, but they just slid away. He realized that he had left the light on while he was gone, which reminded him of his younger brother which he loved more than anyone else.

After a few seconds of just standing and remembering the day he had to watch out for his little brother on his own, he slowly opened the door to enter their home.

 ***she made a promise, sans. stop being so skeptical.**

He said to himself as he looked around for the key Papyrus dropped before. He didn't have time to wonder how the tall skeleton found it at the first place. As soon as he found it, he ran up to it, took it into his hand and quickly headed out, leaving the light on yet again. He swiftly looked around to make sure nobody was coming before he sneaked behind the house to the door which almost nobody ever saw. He swiftly unlocked the big, black metal door and stepped inside the hidden room as swiftly as he could. He then shut the door close and locked it from the inside, heavily sighing and sliding down the door. For some reason, he was even more careful than he was before. This time, it seemed more important to him. He was in complete darkness. Nothing was lighting the secret room except his white bones which were catching the lights of the few buildings and lights outside, as there was a tiny window at the top. Suddenly, he heard small steps coming from the distance, but was too tired to get up at that point. The steps were getting louder as the small, shadowy figure got closer. Sans' frown turned upside down as he saw the figure whose steps were sounding way louder from the echo in the room. After some time, he could hear gasping and he spread his arms out, letting the figure leap up at him and lick his face.

 ***hey, buddy… how did you get in here without my permission again…?*** he asked as he took the small white puppy with fluffy fur into his arms, snuggling it a bit. The little dog barked as it was excitedly wagging its tail every time Sans' hand came closer to the dog's forehead.

 ***wait. don't tell me. you climbed the roof and jumped into the room through the window upon hearing me entering again, am i right?**

The little white dog whined and Sans scratched the dog's head, making the dog's tail wag even faster.

 ***sorry you had to wait for me so long*** , he said and got up, letting the dog fall down from him. The dog wriggled on the floor to pick up all the dust lying on it, filling his perfectly white fur with dirt. Sans then tried to reach the switch, but as he flipped it, the single light bulb which was still working exploded and the dog squealed as it hid behind the short skeleton. Sans frowned.

 ***oh, great.**

The dog suddenly leaped up and started pulling his shorts, so the skeleton rolled his pupils.

 ***gosh, dog, you're so annoying. i still have this, remember?*** he said and his left pupil turned blue as blue light started emitting from it. The room didn't light up, but at least they were able to see where they were going then.

The first thing Sans looked at were the photos on his working table, but he pried his eye sockets away from them as he figured it would only make things worse for him. He just walked passed them and got to the blueprints they worked on a long time ago. He sighed and bended a little to look at all the formulas, predictions and weapons that were written on the blueprint. His smile widened.

Suddenly, he heard a bark from the distance, so he looked at the dog which was tilting his head as he was staring at the machine Sans purposefully covered with cloth. The dog then turned his head towards Sans and silently whined. Sans' eye sockets lowered a bit.

 ***no… buddy. we can't pull that off… not before i actually… remember. all of it.**

The small dog was looking at him.

 ***the time hasn't come yet*** , Sans said and sweetly smiled at the small dog whose look saddened as the skeleton said that. To make it up to him, Sans knelt down and offered the dog the marshmallows he got from Grillby before.

 ***come over here. i've got something for your huge appetite.**

As soon as he said that, the dog came running towards him and simply pulled the plastic bag out of his hand when he reached him. Sans smiled and returned to take a look at the blueprints. In every corner, there was a mathematical equation which was trying to compare the power called 'determination' to something, but every attempt failed as it was an incomparable expression. There were also a few lines written which were describing how to make monsters get determination as well, but Sans knew they weren't really working, at least they weren't even close to the determination of humans. In the middle of the prints were blasters which were drawn pretty badly. And in the corner, there was a small inscription about every secret known to the power all humans contained, but in smaller or bigger amount. Sans frowned.

 _ ***i can't fix it. nobody can.**_

The dog lied down on the package of marshmallows and started devouring every part of it, together with the plastic bag.

He looked at the prints again and after some time realized everything on it was written in symbols. He widely smiled again as he realized he needed such a long time to see that.

 ***hey. doggy. you should really try learning the wingdings letter… it's pretty** _ **handy**_ **.**

The dog stopped eating for a while and raised its cute, scruffy head to look at the skeleton who said that, his tongue sticking out as it was gasping.

"Why should I…? I'm a freaking dog."

Sans widened his eye sockets and looked at the small dog.

 ***what?**

The dog's ears suddenly stood up.

"Nothing."

Sans continued looking at him before he blinked a few times and returned his look at the formulas he was looking at.

 ***great… i… guess i'm going crazy.**

"Yeah… you sure are. Hey! You know what!" the dog excitedly stood up and barked after ingesting the last marshmallow, "We should totally get out of here. This place's only bad memories. Let's go somewhere else! With lots of food!"

Sans widely smiled.

 ***you're right, weird, talking dog. let's go get some grub.**

Sans folded the blue paper and put it into his pocket before he approached the white dog which started wagging his tail like mad as the skeleton approached him. On the way to the door he accidentally knocked over the pictures, but he didn't bother to pick them up.

The dog loudly and happily barked as Sans got the door unlocked again. As soon as the door opened, the dog managed to squeeze itself out of the small secret lab, despite eating a full package of sweet candy. Sans looked back at the machine covered by a simple, torn cloth before heading out. He sweetly smiled and slowly closed the heavy door, locking the room again.

On the floor, a poorly drawn picture of three people was lying. One of them was big, and two of them were small compared to him, one smaller than the other. All of them were smiling and looked very happy. Something was written at the bottom left corner, in a recognizable, but bery messy writing. It said: " **don't forget"**.


	10. Chapter 10

As she was running through the tall, wet grass, she couldn't hear anything except her fast heartbeat, which was for some reason cheering against her as it hurt. Frisk wasn't used to running that fast; she would usually walk around in a slow pace, without any worries. This time, though, she had to get out of the mess she was in, and fast. The wet grass was slapping her face as she was running through it, trying to move them away with her scratched hands and dirty sleeves soaked in mud. Every single step she took hurt as she fell hard before, as dozens of spears came flying towards her. It was the only way to stay alive, back then.

She suddenly stopped listening to her heartbeat and decided to listen to the loud, heavy steps coming her way. She felt like the ground shook every time Undyne stepped on the ground.

She couldn't think straight as she was running. She tried to talk the fish lady out of it, but she just wouldn't listen. Furious the kid didn't want to fight back, she almost beat her to a pulp before the teenager decided it was time to escape. Undyne didn't even give her a spear to fight fair, just because she was determined to end the monsters' suffering and finally deliver the last human SOUL to their king, who was still just watering his flowers and visiting schools in town.

Frisk looked back for a second to see where the head of the Royal Guard was, but saw only shining blue spears flying towards her, cutting down the grass next to her, like Undyne did that purposefully. The kid put her hands over her face to protect it, but nothing else came. Frisk's heart skipped a beat as she heard a loud battle cry behind her and she removed her hands from her face, looking back another time. She saw a single, bright yellow eye coming towards her face before she found herself on the floor in an instant. Then, a heavy leg stepped at her belly, just so to make her unable to move. Frisk looked up while heavily breathing, seeing the fish lady again.

Undyne was completely unharmed, as Frisk refused to battle her no matter what. She was, however, worn out just like the kid under her foot. Her sharp, yellow teeth were clenched as she was frowning at Frisk and her right eye was narrowed. She was slightly growling as something was dripping off her head, though it didn't look like sweat to Frisk. Her armor was shining in the gemstones' light and her trembling hands were clenching the spear she was holding right at Frisk's chest. Frisk, however, didn't move at all.

 _ ***Human! You've run away from me for the… last… time…***_ _she gasped and swiftly shook her head to make herself look like she wasn't tired at all. Then she frowned again, showing her teeth._

 _Frisk remained silent._

 _ ***Fight back, you little brat!***_ _she yelled and got the spear closer to Frisk's shirt, almost piercing through it. Frisk's heartbeat intensified, but she remained silent._

 _Undyne's hands shook as Frisk refused to battle her, looking her in the eye with her bright eyes, illuminated by the shining blue crystals in the area, although there were just a few of them. Undyne seemed to remember something._

 _ ***Why won't you fight back?!***_ _her strong voice pierced through the echoic area. But Frisk remained silent, looking at her in a sad way._

 _ ***UGGGHHH… I really hate when someone refuses to fight me… I wanna kick their butts AFTER a demolish all of their hope, but you're leaving me no choice!***_ _Undyne yelled and removed the spear from Frisk's chest, just so she could spin it in her hand and gracefully throw it into the other hand. Frisk then looked away, so Undyne decided not to attack yet._

 _ ***What is it, you little punk?! Finally scared?!***_ _she widely smiled._

" _I don't… want to fight", the kid responded and Undyne's smile vanished from her face. She then began shaking uncontrollably, for some reason._

 _ ***You… WHAT?! You came all the way down here to get beaten up, didn't you?! So why do you still refuse to fight?! I want a battle, damn it!**_

 _Frisk wasn't looking back at her and the furious fish frowned, but got less angry. She heavily sighed, pressing the spear against Frisk again._

 _ ***Setting Papyrus up to stop me from MURDERING you?! Then befriending Shyrun by singing a freakin' concert with her and hugging random strangers? That dude even sold tickets made out of toilet paper… TOILET PAPER! AND THEY WERE EXPENSIVE!***_ _she suddenly seemed even madder_ _ ***Are you KIDDING me?! What kind of human are you, anyways? Do you think I didn't see how you purposefully avoided conflict everywhere in Waterfall?! I'VE BEEN CHASING YOU FOR AN HOUR NOW, GIVE UP!**_

 _Frisk determinedly looked at Undyne's face who opened her mouth for a moment, seeing that the kid had deep determination in her eyes, and thus in her SOUL. She frowned as she saw that, but she soon grinned again, laughing menacingly._

 _ ***Passing through this place, I saw monsters looking happily at you… like you were some sort of friend to them. Like you were already loved by the whole Waterfall. Onionsan, Woshua and Aaron, even that ghost living nearby… It was like they KNEW you'd come in here, that's why they waited for you at the entrance...***_ _her eyes narrowed and she bit her lower lip_ _ ***clearing the path in front of you, so you wouldn't stumble upon anything.**_

" _No, they were just…" Frisk tried to talk to her, but Undyne didn't seem to want to cool down._

 _ ***Even Papyrus and his lazy brother… they like you… You MADE them love you, somehow…**_

" _I…"_

 _ ***BUT I'M NOT LIKE THEM!**_

 _As she yelled, Frisk stopped every movement. Undyne then grinned again and got her face closer to Frisk, her long, red ponytail whirling in the air. The fins on her head twitched._

 _ ***I don't fall for stupid tricks!***_ _she looked away for a moment as her smile disappeared,_ _ ***Alphys told me the lazy skeleton wasn't actually as dumb as he looks… and that humans aren't as bad as they seem,***_ _she looked back at Frisk and smiled from fin to fin,_ _ ***but YOU!**_

 _Frisk flinched._

" _M-Me…?"_

 _ ***You're not even close to what humans are supposed to be! Warriors with giant swords… Great masters of magic spells, accompanied by unnaturally colored talking animals… Leading me to a conclusion! I'm doing you a favor by ridding you of your SOUL!***_ _she exclaimed and happily and widely smiled as Frisk just stared. She soon reopened her eyes._

 _Frisk tried to Spare her again, but Undyne spun her spear in her hand and forcefully stuck it into the ground right next to the kid's hand, making her flinch again. As Undyne saw that she was scaring the human, she made another four spears appear in thin air and let them fall right next to the kid's other hand, her legs and the top of her head. All the spears were trapping her, like the foot on her belly wasn't enough, and they were located less than an inch away from those body parts._

 _ ***NO MERCY!***_ _she yelled right into her face and made another spear in her hand, widely grinning, her right eye twitching._

 _Frisk could see some kind of regret in her eye._

 _ ***I didn't train up to become a part… no! The HEAD of the Royal Guard for THIS! This is PATHETIC!***_

 _Frisk tried to escape, but couldn't. It was clear to her that struggling won't help her situation at all._

 _ ***FIGHT BACK ALREADY!**_

 _Frisk refused and looked her back in the eye._

 _ ***FIGHT…BACK!**_

 _Frisk was just silent._

 _ ***FIGHT!***_ _she seemed furious._

" _There's no need to…"_

 _ ***NGAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!**_

 _Undyne raised the spear into the air and yelled again as it came closer to the fallen child's chest. Frisk closed her eyes, but nothing happened._

 ***Seven. Seven SOULS are needed for Asgore to break the barrier and free us all…***

Frisk opened her right eye, and as she saw that Undyne's anger suddenly disappeared, she opened her other eye as well. Undyne's eye was closed.

 ***Six*** , she said as she opened her eye to dramatically look in front of herself.

Frisk tried to stand up, but the fish lady stomped on her again and raised her left fist, clenching it, continuing: ***This is how many we've collected thus far… It's been far too long down here… The air is gross. Hotland is gross. Cold food is gross. Nobody can stand it here like that… Yet…**

She made her spear disappear and removed her foot from the human in the striped shirt who was looking at her oddly.

 ***I can't… bring myself to kill you, for some reason…*** she said and slightly smiled, ***all this time, I've had this weird feeling…*** she sweetly smiled and shyly looked at the ground. Frisk managed to stand up and wanted to thank her, but Undyne suddenly raised her head and straightened, pointing at the sky.

 ***But SCREW IT!**

Frisk flinched again. She couldn't even talk with all weirdness going on around her all the time. Undyne angrily looked at her and then pointed at the human child.

 ***Asgore's been trying for far too long. And… And I won't disappoint him now. Or ever,*** she sadly looked at the ground before raising her head again, clenching her fists tightly, ***I WON'T let you get away. I WON'T Spare you. I WON'T get all friendly with you. I will defeat you. I will smite you and send you right to hell, where you belong! I won't back down then… When the time comes… you're going to get sent into oblivion.**

"Why… are you doing this…? Why would you go against your will…?

Undyne widened her eye before looking away again. Then, she smiled.

 ***Heh. It's not about what I want… It's about everyone's hopes… and dreams to get out of this hellhole. But that was never enough,*** she looked at the kid, slightly smiling, ***someone has to the all the dirty work, human… and that one's me. With the seventh and final SOUL, Asgore will be able to do it. He will save us all, and… I'll… I'll finally be able to… No. There's no time for chit-chats right now. Human…**

"Frisk", the human replied and Undyne widely smiled, determination in her single, glowing yellow eye.

 ***Frisk. I know the likes of you… All nerds, but… I quite like them. And I see you're not one of the bad guys, but… That still doesn't stop me from doing whatever I have to do. An assignment is an assignment. I WILL kill you, human, even if its' against my will. Even if it's against my nature, or against my heart*** , she closed her eye again, ***Frisk. The only thing I can't go against is my own dignity… and I see you're not ready to fight me*** , she widely smiled, ***at least not with those noodle arms of yours.**

Frisk looked at her arms and Undyne got serious again.

 ***The next time we meet… there won't be any mercy. It will be a fight to death, you understand…? And only ONE person will make it out alive.**

She turned around and started walking away, slowly, her steps still triggering small ground shakings.

"Wait," Frisk said and stepped a step closer to the leaving humanoid fish, so Undyne looked back to see the teenager. Her trousers were torn on her knees and the shirt she wore was full of cuts as well. Her hair was unruly, but there was a wide, innocent smile on her face, "thank you…"

Undyne half-opened her mouth as she didn't really get why the human would thank her, even though she just postponed their battle. Still, she widely smiled, like she loved to, and left.

* * *

The sparkling, glowing crystals were softly shining down on him, illuminating his tiny, fragile being. The light blue stones above him weren't shining very brightly, their shine wasn't as strong as it used to be. From time to time, the light would fade, leaving him in a dark empty room filled with moist rocks. Now and then a small, illuminated drop of rain would fall right at his head, but he would choose to ignore that. He remembered how it used to rain all the time in there, but not anymore. Something was happening to the Underground, and he wasn't very pleased by it. He knew it was slowly breaking apart, although nothing seemed like it. Snow in Snowdin was somehow melting, and Hotland was getting colder, forcing some creatures deeper into the hot mess. He couldn't care less about the creatures living at those places, but he himself had the feeling he had to leave that place as quick as possible, as the balance was somehow distorted and was getting worse by time.

He felt cold and he didn't like the wet floor at all. If he'd still have a nose, it would be runny right then. He hated the weather in the Underground. It was too predictable, just like everything else in that world. In fact, he hated the whole Underground and everything part of it.

There was no reflection of the surroundings in his empty eyes, even with all of the light shining above him, constantly trying to fill the room with brightness, but failing. He didn't like the dark. He would often avoid it, before, but had to cope with it with time passing. After all, humans were falling down the mountain all the time; and he couldn't pass up on an opportunity like that. Still, he never managed to acquire a single SOUL, for some reason. It would always be snatched away from him by that monster that he once called differently than he does now. But those times would never return. Still, knowing that someone nice enough would come by one day made him constantly go back and look at the past.

As the room went dark again, he flinched and looked upwards to look at the light that was slowly fading in front of his sight. Then, another raindrop fell right at the center of his face and he angrily shook it off. Frustrated that the drops of rain would always choose to fall into the middle of his face, he looked down to see a puddle in front of him. There was only black color in it as it was the only thing in the room except him. Soon, he realized he was reflected in it as well, so he bent forward to look at the manifestation of his unwanted being. His pale, completely white face got happy for a moment before it frowned again as he looked at the yellow petals around his face. Six of them were on him, and he hated every single one of them. Suddenly, sharp teeth appeared at his visage as he tried to bite into the water to make his image fade, but the only thing he got out of it was getting soaked. The unhappy flower looked up again and sighed heavily, looking back up as he was counting seconds how long it needed for the stones to respond after their light would get out. He tilted his head left, then right.

*How long has it been? Twelve seconds…? Or twelve decades?* he said and he frowned. Then he shook violently to get the water off himself. He then straightened himself and widely grinned.

*Doesn't really matter. The point is… you're an IDIOT.

Flowey's eyes narrowed.

*You were wrong right from the START! Hoping you could befriend everyone and ANYTHING?! Hah! What a pathetic little welp.

His smile turned into a frown.

*There's nothing you can do about yourself now, see? You're… just a… THING now! Collecting gazes from bystanders… drinking up the STUPID rain that falls! See what your 'good' life brought you? Pain. Pain and suffering.

He grinned again and crazily tilted his head.

*You're all ALONE in this cruel, cruel world… Where did your determination go? What's with that innocent look of yours, the indescribably DUMB thought of having them as your friend?! But look at you now… So pathetic. The world's brutal, isn't it?

He suddenly stopped and looked down after which he frowned.

*Soulless.

His frown got bigger.

*Worthless.

He then half-opened his mouth and looked up at the statue he was talking to and silently said: *Dead.

A few raindrops fell at the top of the statue, hitting its big horns. At that time, the stones glowed brighter and illuminated the whole statue, revealing its full form. It was gray, wet, cracked and time-worn. The clear, well-crafted and careful lines of the statue were completely gone, leaving behind a simple lump with horns. There was nothing recognizable on the statue's face anymore, showing only a long snout and a line that was separating the face and the hood. The arms' structure was completely faded, leaving behind two lumps. The legs weren't there anymore, and stones were scattered next to them. It was a surprise to him that it was still standing on the same spot after such a long time.

*Huh. Six years in the rain, huh? Well, that's what you get for being so… uh… saintly. Friendly. You IDIOT. In this world…

His expression turned scary again, showing two huge, hollow eyes and a big grin with sharp teeth sticking out of it, going into all directions. Rain started to fall again.

*IT'S KILL* he started, but turned into his normal self upon hearing footsteps coming from down the echoic, wet hallway.

"Flowey…?" he heard a silent, female voice coming from the dark hallway, so he decided to bury himself into the ground.

As soon as he did that, Frisk came into view and looked around. As no one was there, she just ran across the room, but stopped as soon as she realized she wasn't alone. She looked back to see the lump of a statue it once was, before smiling and leaving again. Flowey soon turned up again and watched the dark hallway to make sure Frisk wouldn't come back, and as she didn't, he returned his gaze to the statue he was talking to before.

*Oh, yes… Where were we? Ah. I remember. IN THIS WORLD, IT'S…

Steps came from the side again and Flowey frowned, buried himself into the ground and got next to the statue to look at the kid which was carrying an umbrella.

 _*What the…?! What's she doing again?!_

The kid tilted her head left, then right, and then widely smiled, like seeing a long lost friend. Flowey opened his mouth like he remembered something, but then he just frowned.

 _*Get away from the statue, you idiot…_

As he thought that, he saw Frisk's hand with the umbrella in it getting closer to the statue, so he got furious and yelled: *Don't you dare even TOUCH that statue! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

The kid heard his voice and followed it. As soon as she saw the yellow flower, she crouched and smiled at him, holding the umbrella so that Flowey wouldn't get wet anymore. The flower frowned even more when he realized what she was doing.

"Hey, Flowey… What are you doing out here? Wait… How were you able to get out of the Ruins? Weren't you…"

*Stop questioning me and remove this umbrella! Why are YOU here?! How are you even still alive? Look at what happened to you!* he added as he saw that she was clearly in a harsh fight before, judging by all those cuts in her clothes. She was soaking wet and her baggy clothes were looking like they were filled with water. He remembered his original plan again and his angry expression thusly faded.

"There… there were some complications… but I'm fine. For now…" Frisk said and smiled, and Flowey blinked a few times, realizing that the human standing in front of him wasn't as weak as he thought of her to be.

 _*Wait… perhaps…_

"Why are you here, Flowey?" she curiously asked and the flower frowned and rolled his eyes.

*Why would you care? Just… remove the umbrella, I said.

Frisk's eyes widened at that.

"But… Flowey… If I do that, your petals are going to get even wetter," she said and cutely smiled at him, "besides, too much water for a flower isn't good, remember?"

Flowey just blinked before he frowned again.

*Remove the umbrella. I don't need your stupid pity.

"Pity?"

*Yes. Pity. Is something wrong with that?! Get lost and leave me alone.

As the flower said that, he frowned and lowered his head, so the human smiled and got her hand closer to her small, fragile, flowery friend.

"No… we're friends, Flowey…" she said and wanted to pet the golden flower, but he suddenly raised his head and bit the kid's finger. She pulled it back to herself and looked at it, seeing a drop of blood dripping from the place he bit her. She smiled anyways and he just growled.

*Leave me alone, you IDIOT!

"But I don't want you to be in the rain…"

*I don't want you to be close to me. Like, at all.

As he said that, she got a little closer to him and the flower frowned.

*You really like provoking others, don't you?* his expression turned creepy, with a wide, carved smile on his face. Still, the child just giggled and shook her head. Flowey couldn't help but to show a little smile, just to imitate the emotion he lacked, but wished to feel, for a moment. Then, he shook his head again and frowned, immediately trying to foregt what he thought of a second before.

"So… Have you seen any monsters around here? I haven't seen a single one since the beginning…"

*Nope*, Flowey simply stated and widely grinned, *did you murder them like I suggested you to?*

Frisk suddenly frowned and got the umbrella away from him, so that she was the only one standing under it. Flowey suddenly got angry as all the rain started dropping on his petals again.

*Hey! W-Wait! Wh-What are you doing?! Get… Get it back!* he exclaimed and Frisk rolled her eyes just like he'd usually do, just to annoy him. Still, she got the umbrella back to stop the rain from falling on top of him. He then suddenly shook the water off his petals and widely smiled, looking at Frisk's bright eyes which were a complete contrast from his dull ones.

"Why are you always like this…? Can't you just… be nice for a second or so?" as Frisk said that, Flowey frowned.

*Woah. Shots fired. I feel so bad now… NOT. I don't actually. I couldn't care less for your dumb ambitions and friends and whatnot. It's just… not a thing for me*, he said and stuck his tongue at her, so she kept frowning. After a while of looking at each other, she heavily sighed.

"I've… been through a lot, Flowey. I can't really respond normally right now, I'm sorry… But you know I'll never do something like that…"

Flowey widely smiled at that.

*You can't avoid fate, you know…?* he said in a cute voice, *It'll catch up to you sooner or later… It's inevitable. And I can see it in your eyes… you want some LOVE, don't you?* he widely smiled, narrowing his eyes to look cuter. Frisk suddenly sweetly smiled and stood up.

"You'll never change…" she said and stood up at her tiptoes to reach the statue's top to put the umbrella on top of it. Flowey just watched her for a few seconds.

*I'm serious. You're getting deeper and deeper in here… At one point in your life, you'll crack. Don't you think that fish deserved a fate worse than death for beating you up like this?* he angrily asked and Frisk turned to see him for a moment, still trying to get the umbrella to stand there.

*Not that I was following you or anything…* he silently said and looked away, so Frisk silently giggled, making Flowey look back at the childish teenager she was.

*The POINT is, I know what's about to happen. Flowers have the trait to see into the future… Predictions, flattery… that's what flowers are known for to whisper to people. But… I won't hesitate on telling you anything. You'll do it. And then… then it's going to be just you and me, Chara… Just like back then…

Frisk didn't bother to listen to him, knowing he was talking about things she would never even think of doing. And he still believed that if he called to them enough times, he'd get to see them again.

*After all, this is all just… fiction. And we're all part of it. We can do whatever we want in here, and others? They can just watch while it all goes by, Chara… But you and me, we could be more than just… a game. If we change what's been given to us, we can take over this WRETCHED land and take over! We could… we could be free, go to the surface…

"Surface?" Frisk suddenly asked and Flowey widely smiled.

*Yes! Yes, the surface! Golly, I haven't seen that place for a long time… I would KILL to get up there, to see the setting sun, take a deep breath from the fresh air up there… All we have to do is defeat that old king… _and everyone else_ , and we can return!

"Flowey…" Frisk whispered and finally got the umbrella to stand. As she did that, Flowey heard a haunting tune and frowned for a moment because of the grievous past he remembered at that moment. Then she got away from the statue and the flower, sweetly smiling at him. She was standing at the pouring rain and he was just looking at her in confusion for a while.

"There's no way I'd ever… you know… Even if it means my own SOUL breaking apart... i won't do it… I'd never be able to do that."

Flowey widened his eyes and straightened, creepily smiling.

*One day, you'll get bored by all those monsters trying to rip you apart… What are you going to do then? Will you give up entirely and hand over your SOUL to the king, not even knowing what'll happen if you do that, or will you kill out of frustration? Or… Whine, like a stupid crybaby?!

Frisk looked back at him, a sad expression on her face.

"Did… something happen…?"

Flowey's smile suddenly vanished. He was surprised that she could read emotions that easily, and immediately regretted that he felt those emotions he still could.

*I… guess I… care about you? In a way…? Ugh. Look. The statue next to me… it's the royal memorial, thrown out of Hotland… and it ended up in the garbage, so it's just like you right now. The person this statue represents is someone who was nice to everyone and anything… just like you, once, but… Look where it got him. He died, he was forgotten. Even though he was the future king… Heh. But not only that, I think he wouldn't be bothered right now, if he was alive, that he was forgotten. No, he'd be bothered by the fact that the person he gave his life for was forgotten, too… Nobody's there, get it? Heh. No, how could YOU get that, you spoiled brat? At least one part of you gets it, I guess…

He stopped as soon as he realized that Frisk was looking at him in a sad way, just like she knew what he was talking about. Somewhere in her eyes, he saw that the friend he thought about wasn't completely gone yet, which made him even more confused.

*JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!* he loudly yelled at her and turned his face into a scary one again, so she flinched once more, although she was slowly getting used to it. The flower made bullets appear above him and the kid suddenly widened her eyes and stepped back a few steps.

*Don't you have anything better to do?* he asked in a grim tone and fired the bullets at her, taking most of her HP away. Seeing that she had no chance against him in the state she was in at the moment, the kid turned around and quickly ran away from him, leaving him in the cold dark, with only heavy rain as his companion.

He was just standing there, listening to the heavy raindrops around his soulless being. He raised his small white head up to look at the red umbrella above him. He tried to feel something, but he still couldn't. Furious, he looked back at the statue next to him and angrily said: IT IS STILL… KILL OR BE KILLED.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as she got out of the flower's sight and was sure that nobody saw her, she collapsed down on the ground and started crying bitter tears out of no apparent reason. All the pain Undyne inflicted on her was nothing compared to what she felt in her SOUL. It was bouncing wildly as the kid was heavily breathing, trying to keep everything in. Undyne was not the reason she was crying, even though they would have to battle till one of them collapses, when the day comes. But the tears kept flowing down her youthful face and there was no sign of them stopping. The rain was pouring down on her and she felt something heavy on her shoulders. She was afraid of her own thoughts that kept crashing into her mind, tainting the child's playful being. She felt lost and all alone. The only one who was always with her was the flower who kept talking her into Fighting enemies, and not Sparing them. The petrified human was shaking from fear, but from cold as well. The rain was restlessly pouring down on her and she felt like it wanted to drown her. She simply had to make sure nobody would ever know.

As sobbing was coming down the hallway, he stopped for a second to frown, but as soon as he realized whose voice it was, he sweetly smiled and decided to approach her, hands in his pockets, just like always.

"Splashing", she silently said and raised her head as she heard someone coming in the distance. Frisk stood up carefully, but fell at her knees as soon as she did. She fell right into a puddle. There was no energy left in her, so she just wiped her tears off and hoped the one who was coming wouldn't see her cry. Still, she hid her gaze from him and turned the other way around, hoping he'd just ignore her.

 ***hey there, pal*** , he said and got to his knees as well to look at Frisk, who suddenly widened her big, wet eyes as she recognized the tired voice immediately. Still, she didn't respond. She only looked at him with peripheral sight to see his small figure right next to her, smiling widely as he was looking at her with his hollow eye sockets, his white pupils shining brightly. Another thing that she realized was that he didn't protect himself from the rain at all; it was pouring down on his clean, white skull.

 ***you thought i wouldn't check on you? frisk, your sobbing is echoing through the whole waterfall…**

"I'm… not crying…" she silently said and he snickered.

 ***i know. there's just tears in your eyes.**

Frisk remained silent and the skeleton suddenly put his hoodie over her shoulders again, just like he did a few days ago. Frisk stopped crying and looked at him, seeing his wide smile that he always had on his face around her. He then smiled even wider, realizing Frisk wasn't in a good mood at all.

 ***heh. figured you could use that more than i do... after all. you're the one who caught a cold last time, remember?**

She didn't say anything, but continued gazing into his eye sockets. The skeleton looked away from her.

 ***you should know by now that you can't hide anything from good old sans here… i can see everything by your expression, kid. so. what's been weighing you down?*** he asked and pulled his hoodie over the kid's head, thus ensuring she wouldn't get any wetter.

She just heavily sighed and he stood up and pulled her arm to get her to walk with him. After a few surprisingly fast steps for him, he looked back at the kid who was still just looking downward to face him. He cutely narrowed his eye sockets.

 ***follow me. i know a shortcut.**

After a while, everything in front of the kid's eyes started to get blurry. She suddenly felt weary, but she didn't want to give in to the fatigue. She put her arm over her eyes to protect her shining eyes from the vivid, dancing lights around her. Although they seemed distant, they were actually wrapping around her long sleeves, just like they were truly alive. Gray and white in color, they were rapidly flashing in front of her face, playfully whirling as they passed by her, just like they were greeting her. She wondered if it was really just light, or if it was something that had life energy, as it was shining brightly every time she'd wipe a tear off her face. She removed her arm away from her face and stopped for a second to look at her surroundings, seeing only a huge, white platform with even an even brighter white background full of the sparkling, moving lights dancing in a synchronized way, just like the spiders back in the Ruins would dance. The lights' dance was more special, though. As she stopped, Sans turned around and looked up at her, seeing a sweet smile on her face.

 ***you… you can… control yourself?**

Frisk looked at him as her smile disappeared.

 ***not that i'm surprised… but this shouldn't really be happening… normally, when i take someone through my shortcuts, they black out, and can't see a thing, or at least don't remember anything about this room.**

"Where are we…?" she silently asked, wonder in her young voice. Her voice chimed through the whole area. Sans was just looking at her. As he didn't respond, she just started looking around again.

 ***we ain't got time for answers, kid… i'm a weird little skeleton which knows how to manipulate space and time, let's just stick to that*** , as he said that, he expected her to get confused or to get surprised, but nothing came from the teenager. He then pulled her arm again and they started passing through the area yet again.

"What are those?" the kid silently asked and Sans smiled at her childish questions. She was full of wonder and he couldn't help but to turn around to smile at her.

 ***those are beings, just like you and me. no, wait, just like me.**

She lowered her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes as he said that, so he widened his eye sockets.

 ***no, um… got that wrong. i mean, there are no humans here…**

She stopped walking and hung her naturally red lips.

 ***except you. you see, those all are… never mind*** , he cut the story short and pulled her arm again, his pace getting faster with time. He didn't say anything, but he was a little concerned that there weren't as many lights as there was usually.

 ***still, you gotta admit… this is really** **sansational** **.**

She smiled before she felt dizzy again, as they were getting closer to a dark exit. She squeezed his hand and he smugly smiled and ran towards the black void in shape of a door. As they were getting closer to it, Frisk was feeling worse and worse, thus unable to ask him if she was dreaming or not, as the lazy skeleton actually decided to run for once. And he ran pretty fast. With them getting closer to the passage, the lights scattered in all directions, graying the room in a swift manner. All the white soon faded away and the black void was reaching towards them. Frisk heard her loud, fast heartbeat again and suddenly got afraid, so she ran closer to the short, big-boned skeleton to make sure she wouldn't collapse, and if she would, he'd be there. Feeling the cold void getting towards her and pulling her into the blackness filled her with determination, but also with great fear.

He suddenly looked back at her and sweetly smiled, tilting his head.

 ***you ready to get outta here, kid?**

She was unable to talk, so she nodded and the skeleton snapped his fingers.

* * *

She woke up and found herself on a pile of golden flowers which were keeping her from touching cold water located underneath the highly resistant plant species. The girl shook her head and looked right in front of herself, seeing her skeleton friend's face right in front of hers, so that they were only an inch away from each other.

 ***'sup.**

She squealed and fell backwards into the golden flowers, rising petals into the air. He chuckled and sat down as well, sweetly smiling and closing his tired eye sockets.

 ***you got dunked on again, kid.**

As he said that, he opened his right eye socket to secretly look at her before closing it again.

 ***man, you should have seen your face. i can't believe you actually fell for it… heh.**

He reopened his eye sockets, but they remained narrow from his huge, wide smile. Frisk opened her eyes to see a few petals floating above her.

 ***i purposely didn't teleport-**

He widened his eye sockets as his smile disappeared.

 ***um… forget i said anything…**

Frisk sat up and shook her head to get the yellow petals out of her messy hair which was completely soaked. Then she looked at Sans.

"I… didn't know you could… you know. Run", she stated and he chuckled.

 ***brought you here to get you away from the rain, kiddo. you know. 'cause i'm a nice guy and stuff*** , he said, narrowed his eye sockets again and looked into the distance.

 ***by the way. you didn't happen to see some monsters on the way here, did you?*** he asked and Frisk looked into his hollow eye sockets and she remained silent for a moment. Then she lowered her head.

"No. Not a single one, actually."

Sans' smile disappeared for a moment, but soon returned to his calm, carefree state and pulled a petal out of her hair, accidentally pulling it. Frisk clenched her teeth and pulled her hair away from the skeleton's fingers. The comedian dumbly smiled.

"Ouch! Hey…"

 ***um… sorry.**

She started combing her hair with her fingers and he just stared at her for a moment, confused why she was behaving like that.

 ***so… we'll just have to look for them, huh? i was kinda hoping you'd seen one, tibia honest… but whatever. kid. i trust ya, pal.**

She shook her head and got him all wet, after which she took his blue, wet hoodie off and handed it back to him. He chuckled, but frowned.

 ***um… thanks*** , he sweetly smiled, awkwardly took the hoodie out of her small hands and put it at the golden flowerbed. They were silent for a moment. Sans was waiting for her to ask or say something, but she seemed pleased by just playing with the flowers beneath her. She soon started plucking them and braiding them into some kind of flowery bracelets. He was watching her do that before he decided to stand up and leave, but the kid suddenly called his name, so he looked back down at her.

 ***um… what?**

"Could… could you stay here for a little while…? Just a bit longer?

He blinked twice before he smiled again and sat down next to her, looking at the tiny flowers in her hands again.

 ***what are you doing?*** he asked in a tired voice and Frisk looked at him and friendly smiled, showing her small, white teeth.

"You'll see soon enough", she happily said and continued braiding the golden flowers.

 ***so… would you mind telling me why you were crying before…?**

She remained silent and he smiled again.

 ***come on, kid… there's nothing to be ashamed of. i mean, my bro cries all the time. i think it's pretty brave of him to cry that loudly… one day, i got into his room to check on him. little did i know he was in an** **emotional** **state. heh. i wondered why a figurine of a sexy robot was getting bigger and bigger… but then it hit me.**

Frisk slightly smiled and looked at him for a second. Seeing that he was funny to her, he got closer to her and plucked a golden flower as well, inspecting its petals from all sides. Soon, he started pulling them one by one, till nothing was left. Then, he just discarded it and smiled again.

 ***anyways. i was lucky it hit my clothes. otherwise, i'd be dead where i stood.**

"And why that?" she asked and looked happily at him.

 ***i'm not really a fighter. 1 attack, 1 defense, 1 hp. those are my stats.**

Frisk stared at him for a second before she widely smiled again.

"Then… would _you_ get dunked on if I did this…?" as she asked that, she crawled toward him and meekly punched his ribs. He suddenly bent forward and frowned, looking at her in dread. His eye sockets suddenly widened and Frisk got scared as well.

 ***wh-what's… wrong w…*** he said and keeled over. The traumatized kid started calling out his name and shaking him, afraid he really said the truth.

"Sans… no, no, no… It can't… come on, pal, you can't just…" Frisk silently said, but stopped shaking him as she realized nothing was working to wake him up. She leaned at his cold body and started shaking from sadness again.

"Sans…" she silently cried out as she leaned her forehead at his shoulder.

 ***you cold, kid?*** he suddenly asked and she sat up straight again.

"Wh-What? You're alive! Wait", she frowned as he started snickering again.

 ***you should… heh… just…*** he suddenly burst into laughter and rolled a bit to get to lie on his back. As he couldn't stop laughing, he put his left hand over his eye sockets, trying to stop laughing. Frisk was frowning at him, but couldn't hide a small smile from her face as his laugh was highly contagious.

 ***you should… pffft*** he snickered and the kid bit her lower lip to stop smiling at his uncontrollable laugh which was getting louder and louder, echoing through the dumps. He couldn't even finish his sentence and the kid evilly grinned.

 ***you…. hahahaha*** he burst into laughter again after a failed trial of getting serious again. The skeleton grabbed his hoodie and held it close to his face to stop his laughter, but nothing seemed to work. He didn't even know anymore why he was laughing so much, but he just didn't want to stop. Frisk then suddenly pushed him from the flowerbed and he yelped before he fell face first into the dark, dirty water. The skeleton stood up and looked at his clothes which were spewing out water before he looked back at the kid, who upon seeing him lose his smile burst into laughter as well. As he heard her laugh, he grinned, got back at the golden flower bed and knelt back on the yellow.

 ***ha-ha. very funny, kid*** , he stated and straightened, getting his wet hoodie above her head. He then swiftly squeezed the clothing so that all the water poured down on her face. She sat up straight and flailed her arms into random directions before she finally released a silent voice and looked back at the smiling skeleton, which burst into laughter because of her odd reaction. She looked furious, but decided not to be angry with him. Instead, she just started laughing as well, so that the whole area was full of joyful laughter.

 ***you… you should totally stand in the… corner… frisky…*** he finally managed to squeeze through his teeth and she covered her eyes with her small hands, trying to focus on the thing she was working on.

 ***'cause… 'cause of your shivering…**

Frisk stopped laughing and continued braiding the flowers.

 ***they are… heheh… usually around ninety… degrees…*** he squalled and started laughing again, so Frisk took the hoodie into her right hand and threw it towards the skeleton, but managed to fail yet another time as the hoodie landed right next to him. He watched the hoodie for a second before he burst into laughter again, and the poor little Frisk covered her face with her tiny hands again from embarrassment. Upon seeing that, he stopped laughing and picked the hoodie up, hitting it into his own face, ignoring the pollen on it. He then stood up and waddled closer to her, acting a little in the process as water was dripping from his face. He seemed to have forgotten why he didn't want to be close to the kid already.

 ***ouch… you got me there, kid*** , he said, turned around and let himself fall down on his back, rising the golden petals up into the air. He then pulled the dripping wet clothing from his face and threw it away from them, revealing a bright, happy smile at his face. She sweetly smiled back at him and continued braiding.

 _ ***oh, kid… if only you weren't that…***_ he thought, but the kid suddenly shoved something into his face. He stood up and accepted the braided flowers, letting her put it into his boney hands. He then looked at her and scratched the back of his head.

 ***what… what's that…?*** he asked as he was a bit confused. The flowers were perfectly aligned and were all facing the same way, ***whatever it is,*** he smiled so she smiled back, ***it looks like you're really talented.***

Frisk blushed a little.

"Those are friendship bracelets… I made the same for myself, see?" she raised her hand and showed it to the puzzled skeleton, "it's… it's a gift. Because I think you are really nice and…"

 ***oh, come on, kid. you're making me blush. well, not really. but still.**

She then proceeded to put the perfectly crafted bracelet on his hand, and he just watched her do that, feeling guilt in his SOUL. Still, he sweetly smiled and looked back at her.

"See? Now we're forever friends."

Sans blinked as his smile disappeared.

 ***…friends…?**

"Sure," she happily stated and stood up, ready to leave him, "and we'll always stay like that, right?"

Sans was just looking into her eyes for a few seconds before he sweetly smiled and looked away, ***sure.**

Frisk then happily spun and jumped into the water, ready to continue her journey. Before she left, though, she looked back at him and lowered her eyebrows as she asked: "Even… Even if I get out of the underground… you'll still be there for me, right…?"

 ***that was the deal, anyways*** , he said and Frisk happily nodded her head. She then waved at him and greeted the skeleton, who slowly waved his hand back at her. As she left, his smile vanished and he looked at the friendship bracelet he received.

 _ ***it's a curse, knowing what'll happen…***_ he thought and closed his eye sockets, _***i'd love to stay forever by your side, kid… your laugh is simply amazing. your humor great. we get along so perfectly and… everything about you… you're so innocent looking and… and yet… judging by the look you gave me before… judging by the amount of monsters there is in this small place and… and judging by the amount of damage you took and are still standing… not SAVING even once…***_

He sadly opened his eye sockets and looked into her direction, seeing the kid he had to protect with his own life. There were no pupils in the hollowness his eye sockets were.

 ***you're not** **level one** **anymore, are you?*** he asked and clenched his right hand, the hand where the flowery bracelet was on.

 ***but heh. who am i to judge?*** he asked, sweetly smiled and shrugged his shoulders, ***play your game the way you want to play it, kiddo.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Alone again…" she silently said as she was slowly pacing through the muddy water full of some kind of garbage. For some reason, there were many brands she recognized. She stopped for a second as she looked at a fluffy, dirty pink teddy bear sticking out of the garbage pile, realizing it was her own. It was on the bottom of the pile of garbage so it was hardly recognizable, but there was a detail on the bear that made Frisk stop doubting. She hung her lips and looked at the bracelet she made a few minutes ago, sweetly smiling. She was wondering how she managed to make the flowers be so perfectly aligned for a second, but her smile faded away as memories regarding the bear struck her heart.

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

 _*Are you crying again, my child…?* the goat mom asked as she opened the door a bit to look at her little, five year old child whining as she was hugging her huge white pillow to stop the tears. Frisk was sitting on the floor right next to Toriel's huge bed, from which she apparently pulled the pillow down. She didn't answer and Toriel sweetly smiled and seemed to put something down. She then approached her and knelt down, looking at her for a while. As the big white fuzzy monster wanted to put her big, white fuzzy hand on top of the kid's head, Frisk suddenly turned around from her and silently growled at her. Toriel widened her bright eyes, but sweetly smiled anyways. She immediately figured the child watched TV without her permission again._

 _*Oh… what's that in your eyes, Frisk?* she silently asked and took something in her hand._

 _*Definitely not tears, mom*, she said while clearly whining. The goat mother just laughed a bit. She then turned the child around so she would face her, after which she removed the pillow from her little human's face. The girl's visage was wet and red and her eyes wouldn't open, just like when the goat mother first saw her little human child. She had always wondered why her eyes wouldn't open back then, but never got the answer._

 _As soon as the kid decided to open her eyes and embarrassingly looked at the goat, Toriel showed the kid her open palm on which an onion was lying. She then voice acted a bit as she made the onion say: *Why are you crying…? Are those tears of joy because of me…?*_

 _Toriel smiled, but the kid just frowned even more._

 _*Really…? I thought it was a good one*, Toriel said and Frisk suddenly hugged her tightly, so that the goat got surprised. She soon hugged the kid back and sweetly smiled._

" _I'm lonely…" the kid said and something hit Toriel's heart._

 _*I'm… I am sorry, my child… I did not want you to be lonely, but… I thought you had friends in here, too… If you wish to leave, I… I would…*_

" _No… I'm not leaving. You'd be lonely too then, wouldn't you?" Frisk said and looked up, seeing the goat's eyes getting wet. Toriel then smiled widely and hugged the kid a little too tight, so she had a hard time getting air into her lungs. She managed to pull her head out of the goat's strong arms and smiled again; putting her small head on the fluffy white fur._

" _Or should I say_ _ **bonely**_ _…?"_

 _Toriel widened her eyes as her smile suddenly disappeared._

 _*Um… did you… read my diary, Frisk…?*_

 _Frisk suddenly stopped smiling_ _ **or**_ _crying and just blinked a few times before widely grinning._

" _I feel much better now, mom, thanks! I'll go play with…" she stopped as she realized Toriel was looking at her in a stern way._

 _*Frisk…*_

" _No. Maybe… A little", she said and the goat released her, but smiled anyways._

 _*You are such a little troublemaker, my dear… I hope you don't cause any trouble to the residents of the Ruins as well, my child*, she said and stood up, so Frisk stood up as well and wanted to go after her leaving mother, but Toriel soon returned with a big, pink fluffy teddy bear in her fuzzy hands. The teddy was smiling and had a red heart locket around its neck. Frisk widely smiled and looked at Toriel who was just smiling at her little child as well, indicating that the bear was meant for her. Instead of hugging the bear, she hugged her mom again, crying tears of joy._

" _I love you, mom…" she silently said as Toriel brought the huge bear, which was almost the same size as the human, down to her, letting it fall to the floor. She then hugged her small child back, and she felt just like the time she thought Frisk was going to leave her alone. Somewhere deep down, she knew Frisk wouldn't stay with her forever._

" _I love you too, my child."_

 _*End of Flashback*_

* * *

She shook her head as she was getting sadder and sadder. Frisk was free now. She wanted to leave, and now she left.

"Like Flowey said, it was my dream all the time, and I got what I wanted. It's pointless to cry now", she said and approached the teddy bear, trying to pull it out of the dirty pile of trash. Her face reflexively scrunched up as she felt the mud on her hands, but she still wanted that little memory of her childhood back. As she was pulling too harshly, the mud caused the toy to slip out of her hand and she fell back into the muddy water, tearing something down from the teddy bear. As soon as he got her head out of the water, she spit all of the water out of her mouth and shook her head before she looked back into her hands, realizing that she obtained the Heart Locket from the toy.

* **O** ooh… What's that?* she heard a voice coming from the distance and Frisk decided to hide behind the huge pile of trash so she wouldn't be spotted. She didn't know why, but she was afraid of everything in Waterfall. She still wanted to look at the monster clumsily walking down the watery path, though.

* **O** h. My. God. Are you kidding me. Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2? Wh-Why is the garbage down here getting more a more like… uh… garbage?* the voice said and Frisk could hear a loud splash a few feet away from her. She tried to look at the monster which had a monologue, but was stopped as a CD flew right next to her, nearly hitting her face. She flinched and hid behind the garbage pile again.

* **N** othing new today…* the voice sadly sighed and small, clumsy feet came towards the human hiding behind the pile of garbage. Then, she heard a splash and the kid looked at the monster again. In front of her, there was a small yellow monster whose body was covered by a mere lab coat.

* **D** -damn it… I dropped my glasses again… Uh, where could they…?* the monster quietly said and stumbled towards the pile of garbage Frisk was hiding behind.

The kid took a better look at the monster's face. She looked almost like a small, yellow lizard to her. She was kind of chubby and was walking very clumsily, like she didn't see in front of herself. Just as Frisk thought about that, the monster fell face first as she tripped over her own foot. The thick tail she had splashed into the water after the coated monster fell and got water all over Frisk' face. The kid still smiled and silently laughed, though. Now she wasn't the only one covered in mud and dirty water. The monster stood up again and shook a bit to get the water off her, although she knew it wouldn't help at all.

The monster's eyes were rather small and had dark circles under them. She looked like she was having a hard time trying to find her glasses as her eyes were squinted. Her right hand was nervously trying to reach out for the glasses that were close to her, but she accidentally pushed them away and she heavily sighed as she did that.

Frisk then saw that she had three buckteeth sticking out of her mouth. She was nervously biting her lower lip. On her head, there were three spikes.

* **W** hy do such things happen to me…? I… ugh-* she stopped and widely opened her small eyes as she saw someone's palm with her glasses in it. She blinked a few times, trying to identify the blurry image in front of her, but she didn't manage to do that.

"There you go."

* **W** ha- Who… Who are you…?* the yellow monster asked and Frisk stopped for a moment, remembering how her mother was always warning her of not talking to strangers, especially when they are monsters. Still, remembering how she made friends with the skeletons, she just shrugged the past warnings off.

"The name's Frisk…" the girl said and Alphys raised her head to look at the face of the person in front of her. She still couldn't recognize any part of it.

* **U** m… Your voice sounds familiar… B-But I can't quite recall… I'm… uh… practically blind without them…*

"Uh… no, we haven't met yet, actually. You see, I'm new to this part of the underground", the teenager said and Alphys clumsily took the glasses out of Frisk's palm and put them back on. She then blinked a few times before she managed to see the person in front of her. She then widened her eyes again and fell over, landing on her backside. Frisk just stared at the weird little monster.

* **Y** -You're already here?* she said and looked around before she nervously smiled at the human child,* I… I mean… um… I did try to find you myself, honestly, as my cameras weren't detecting anything from you… Heh heh heh…*

Frisk still just stared at her, but decided to ask: "Were you… spying on me?"

* **W** h-What? Me? D-Don't be silly… heh… Spying? ME? No… Not at all…* she was looking into all directions, trying to avoid eye contact. Then she clenched her hands together and got red in the face, *Maybe.*

"Why-"

* **I** t was for scientific purposes only!* the monster shouted and they were both silent for a moment again. The yellow monster smiled again after some time, nervously playing with her index fingers.

* **I** just happened to catch you in sight, one day… After you got out of the Ruins… Um…* she got red again and widened her eyes as she realized she just told her a secret she had to keep. Frisk wanted to say something, but Alphys decided to try to make things right.

* **A** -A friend of mine had a crazy idea… To spy on the Ruins… I don't really know why, b-but… I helped him out. Just for the sake of… um… good old times…? Wait! I wasn't supposed to say that… Let me start over! So. There's this huge door which got opened by… Um! You know this part, d-don't you…? I just… I just… Um…* the monster was getting redder and redder as she didn't know what to say. Frisk tried to calm her, but the monster didn't seem like she wanted to stop.

* **I** -I was rooting on you behind the screen… First, I wanted to destroy you, as I am the Royal Scientist, b-but… Seeing you on screen changed my mind… You care… You are nice and I… I… Um… Didn't watch anything since you got to Waterfall… I had some errands to do… Oh! Did you see Undy- Oh, where are my manners? I'm Alphys…* she said and smiled a bit, tilting her head.

"Glad to-"

* **I** waited and waited for you but you just didn't show up… Then I decided to search down here, hoping I'd stumble upon you… It seems I did!*

"Wait, is this some kind of show or?" Frisk asked and looked around to see if there were more cameras hidden in the room, but Alphys stood up and put her hands on the human's face to align their eyes. As Frisk looked oddly at her, she blushed again and removed her hands from her immediately, clenching them together.

* **N** -No… I'm not really into game shows… there was a time a certain… acquaintance of mine wanted to put me in… but he just embarrassed me, claiming I had a crush on the king… I don't! His… his original plan was to have the game show with a human… but since none came… heh heh… I'm more into anime.*

"Anime?"

* **D** O YOU LIKE ANIME?!* she loudly asked as Frisk seemed to know what it was. Her eyes were filled with hope as she was looking at the kid. Frisk was staring at her before she slowly nodded her head. Alphys' whole body trembled as she tried to hide the joy she felt at that moment.

* **W-** Would you… perhaps… uh, watch it with me, one day… It's called Mew Mew Kissy Cutie… B-But it's not that kind of anime! Not the weird one, I swear… It's a story about love and trust, I assure you! And with ice cream… and friends… and… compassion… and… heh heh… um… N-Never mind… Why would anyone want to…* she suddenly got sad and Frisk smiled at her.

"Sure", the human girl said and sweetly tilted her head, so Alphys' face lit up.

* **R** -Really?! You would actually want to… Yes! Oh, yes! Yes! L-Let's go watch it, then!*

"Wait, right now?" Frisk asked, but didn't get an answer as Alphys pulled her sleeve to get Frisk to follow her. Frisk was stumbling just like her as the monster was even smaller than Sans.

* **I** hope you're okay with it. I mean, you wouldn't have said yes if you weren't, but still. I'll try not to spoil anything, alright?* Alphys suddenly stopped to look back at the kid who was still staring at her, *Um… emphasis on… try…*

Frisk just slightly smiled as she saw how passionate the short monster was about that anime she was talking about. Still, she didn't like the idea of watching it. The whole way out Alphys was just talking. At some points, Frisk wouldn't even listen.

* * *

* **A** nyways,* halfway through their journey towards the lab Alphys decided to tell another story, *you're not the first one to watch that anime with me… It's actually a classic now… W-Well. For me, anyways.*

"Aha…" Frisk sighed as she really couldn't walk or listen to her anymore. Still, Toriel taught her to always listen what people have to say.

* **U** m… There was this thing with a… fish… friend of mine, but, uh… The first person who agreed on watching the cartoon with me was actually a guy from the human fan club…*

Frisk wasn't even surprised at that point. She got used to her cute wackiness pretty quickly.

* **H** e firstly didn't even know what anime was! Can you believe that?*

Frisk looked around. They were passing by a huge billboard which said " _WELCOME TO HOTLAND_ ". It really was staring to get hotter.

* **I-** I decided to be… you know. The one who enlightens him. Um…* she frowned, *he didn't really take it well.*

Frisk then looked back at her as she didn't look that happy anymore.

* **A** fter some time, he wanted to escape… out of the window. I sealed it… but forgot he could pass through walls… heh heh… The next time, though! The next time I caught him singing to the Echo Flowers, I talked him into watching another episode with me! This time, there would be no… um… erotic scenes… I… um, said.*

Frisk widened her eyes and looked at Alphys, so the yellow scientist heavily blushed. Still, she didn't even try to explain.

* **H** e tried to escape again… heh heh… um… But! This time I sealed the windows with magic and the monster couldn't escape! He got a little electrified, though… um… b- but that's… that is history! Everything's fine now…*

Frisk wasn't so sure about watching movies with her anymore.

* _ **E**_ _xcept all the malfunctions he gets from time to time… It's kind of hard to fix that… especially when you sweat while…_ UM!* she whispered, but flinched as she realized her monologue was a bit too loud. She looked down, then back up at her, then left, then right, then back down and then she turned around again and pulled her sleeve to let her know they were continuing their journey.

"Are we there yet…?" the kid asked and Alphys sweetly smiled.

* **N** ot used to the warmth, huh? Hey, nobody is at first… but humans get used to it pretty quickly.*

"How do you know?" Frisk asked and Alphys started to sweat.

* **U** m… how do I… know?! I just… um… heh. Ha ha. Ha hahaha. …I… I… I eventually got him to watch till the end.*

As Alphys continued with her story, Frisk looked away and silently sighed, so that the monster wouldn't hear her. Alphys was a bit annoying to her, but she decided not to say anything. She didn't want to hurt her feelings.

* **H** e was frowning at every part of it… Sometimes, I don't really get people when they… um… don't even like cute girls being friends, and all… He though it was stupid and needed more drama and bloodshed… The nerve of that guy… heheh…*

There was silence for a moment. They soon got out of the cave they were walking through and lava's light shone right into Frisk's eyes, so she put her hand over them. Alphys seemed to be used to it.

* **H** e… still hasn't changed. He only added romance as his last of the three units…*

Frisk remained silent as she tried to adapt herself to her surroundings. It didn't really work.

* **B** ut watching this anime changed his life… I… just wish he would call sometimes… or check if I was still even… you know. Alive… It's like he completely forgot about me… I haven't seen him for years now… Since I finished what he desperately wanted. Wonder if he flipped the switch or not…? **I can't imagine how the fans will react after such a huge… um… plot twist?** Should I call it? He was just a box till now and… But we were so close back then and… That's why this anime is my favorite cartoon and… Oh. We're here, Frisk! Look!* She happily said and clumsily ran forward to present her the lab. Frisk was too tired to emote at all, so she just approached the door and opened it herself. Alphys stared for a while before running in after her.

* **O** h… P-Please, m- make yourself at home, will you? I'll just go change my… Wait! Y-Your clothes are dirty as well!*

Frisk looked at herself. Her short pants were covered in mud, so were her boots. Her shirt was cut on some parts and dirty and wet as well.

"Oh… no, no need for me to change… I'll get it dry by standing close to the lava. The heat will-"

* **N** o, no. I can be of greater help than any natural heat source ever will! I'll get you a lab coat… um… we'll… we'll put your dirty clothes in one of my inventions then… Wait. No. A washing machine would do it as well then… Um… I'll be right back… I just have to… to find it… it has to be somewhere… around here…* she was looking around, but then decided to go upstairs.

*I'll bring you a clean coat… then we'll figure something out! We don't really have much water in Hotland… B-but there's a water cooler not far from here! I'll figure something out… You just wait here, okay…? And, uh…*

"What?"

* **I** just have to warn you not to investigate too much… um… not that I don't want you to look at my private stuff and that I'll be angry, but… ugh… I… it's better not to touch anything… for your own good. Believe me…* after she said that, she went up the escalator as Frisk was just staring into her direction.

As Frisk was waiting, she was just looking at the floor. After a while, she heard loud noises coming from upstairs, but decided not to investigate. She tried not to think about why there was a huge package of dog food lying on the ground while passing next to it and tried not to mess with anything on the worktable next to the dog food. Still, she approached it and looked at the computer screen to find a picture of the younger of the skeleton brothers posing in front of a mirror. There was a cardboard box in front of his body on which he poorly drew a muscular body. On top of the box, there were his action figures, aligned so that they looked like they were applauding his looks. Under the picture, Alphys apparently tried to make a rude comment, but she deleted half of it, so that the text made no sense. Under the big text section where she was commenting on his obsession of figurines of sexy robots, she typed 'Again?' and a sad face next to it.

Everything else on her page was just anime, mostly comments of how bad the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie sequel was. There was also a post where she was apologizing for a video that was posted of her on the webpage, but Frisk decided not to check the link added in the description. At the bottom of the page, there was also a question regarding Mettaton's apparent 'crush', but the content of it was disabled, and Mettaton's comment on the question was flagged.

As Frisk was heading towards the big screen she could see herself on, she looked into the trash can and saw a small piece of paper in it. She took it out and began reading it.

* * *

 _By the time you're reading this… SHE'S ALREADY GONE.  
And there's nothing you could do about it. All those memories, all those fun times…  
All turned to DUST! And you know what?_

 _I didn't do it. Neither did anyone else except you. You did it by leaving her.  
Don't believe me? What if I told you…?  
 **I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.**_

* * *

* **F** risk, I'm back! I… uh…* she stopped as she saw that nobody was there anymore. She was carrying a lab coat in both of her arms, trying to hold it above the dusty floor so the clean piece of clothing wouldn't get dirty, *where are you? You… Huh?!* she exclaimed as she saw the human running through Waterfall with a desperate expression on her face. Alphys widened her eyes and looked at another camera which showed Undyne going towards Snowdin to meet Papyrus. Alphys looked back at the first camera then, then back at the second, then back at the first. She then started to sweat and she let the lab coat fall down into the dust underneath her. She started trembling in fear.

* **O** h God… no… please no… Undyne!* she yelled like Undyne could hear her and headed outside as well, rushing towards Waterfall. She had a feeling she wouldn't get there on time, though. And although she saw that Frisk was a nice person, she was afraid of losing someone like Undyne, who cared for her more than anyone else did.


	13. Chapter 13

The place the human child was in had only memories to bring to her, and all of them were filled with love and compassion. But as the child stared up the big dark tree from which every leaf that would grow would fall, she realized those memories were only bringing sorrow to her. As she was staring at the dark tree, she couldn't feel anything but grief. All those memories she shared with her monster friends under the defenseless tree, all those memories of her and her mother having fun by simply looking around the environment. Where was that feeling now? To her, it was like she couldn't even feel it anymore. The once happy and innocent child lost in the darkness that was found by a monster whose welcoming arms were always there for her to hug her tightly turned into a grieving empty shell standing in the light that was emitting from the small house in the back. At least she was still human.

She didn't even want to think about it, but there was nothing here that would prevent her from staring at the red leaves. She recalled how she'd play with them when she was still naïve like before.

She wondered what happened to her. She couldn't stand the fact that in a matter of few days, she lost everything her childish personality had to offer. As soon as she saw the world outside, she knew what it had to offer, although she didn't even give a chance to those who were now gone. The fact that she turned a monster to dust was tainting her SOUL. She didn't like it, but her SOUL would always itch for a battle.

The Ruins looked run down and neglected. Spider webs were covering the place, yet not a single one was to be seen. It was like they all knew what was about to happen.

She was scared, but also scarred as she was looking at the small source of all her joy during those years spent in the Ruins. The well of all her happiness, now turned into all her sorrow, was lying on the red leaves, flying away from her as soon as a small breeze would come.

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

" _Why did the witch turn to dust, mom?" she asked as she looked at Toriel's smiling face. Her big white hand petted the human child as she just stood up and put her book aside._

 _*It is only a fairytale, my child…* she then frowned for a second, as she realized she had to talk to her about death eventually, *but that doesn't mean dust doesn't exist in this world.*_

 _Frisk looked at her and ran up to her, taking her hand and answering: "Of course it does… it's all over the place when you don't clean up."_

 _Toriel laughed and shook her head saying: *Not dust like that, my little Frisk. When a monster dies… it becomes dust, my child.*_

" _D-dies?"_

 _Toriel nodded sadly, but then aligned her eyes with the human's again, *Yes… the shows you watched on TV were not telling lies… There is an end to our lives.*_

" _Why?"_

 _*Well… the world would be too crowded if everyone was alive, don't you think…?*_

 _Frisk looked at the ground for a moment before asking: "Are you going to… die one day, mom? I… I'd…" Toriel saw Frisk's eyes getting wet and sweetly smiled as she didn't really expect to hear that question. But the kid did watch way too many shows on the television, so she wasn't really surprised._

 _*Well… We monster don't age like humans do… but we are extremely weak. As long as you don't tickle me to death or break my heart, it'll be fine. I'm very vulnerable.*_

 _Frisk just stared._

 _*Do not worry, my child. I am just kidding… But life is as long as we make it, don't you think…?* she looked up to see the leafless treetop, *We are the ones who decide how long our lives will be… and we do it by evaluating our own strengths and weaknesses. And caring for each other. Care and compassion, my child… If you keep sharing your beautiful smile with the other monsters here, I am sure they will live a long and prosper live… Just like you*, she said and pet her again, so that the child's hair got all messy again. Frisk smiled as she heard that._

" _Mom… so we'll forever be together, right?"_

 _Toriel's smile disappeared._

 _*Yes, my dear child,* she smiled, *forever.*_

* * *

 _*This picture?*_

" _Yes… you always stare at it at night…"_

 _Her mother smiled and stood up from her big wide bed, taking it with her to show it to the human child which couldn't sleep again. Frisk was carrying her big fluffy pink teddy bear in her right arm, but the teddy was still wiping all the dust off the floor, so it was gray at its bottom part. As Toriel smiled and showed her the picture, Frisk's happy face turned into a confused one. She took the picture in her hands and looked up to meet her mother's eyes._

" _But… it's just an empty picture frame."_

 _Toriel nodded._

" _Why would you look at that picture frame every night? There's nothing here…"_

 _*Oh, my child… you are very wrong…* Toriel widely smiled as she took the picture frame in her hand again and looked at it as she sweetly smiled, *you see, it wasn't always empty. There was a picture in it…*_

" _What happened?"_

 _*I… got rid of it.*_

" _Why?"_

 _Toriel smiled again and put the picture frame on top of the bed, *you ask way too many questions, my child.*_

" _You told me to ask many questions…"_

 _Toriel's smile got somewhat smaller._

 _*Something happened… it does not matter what, actually. Still, I look at the frame to remember my past… although time heals a wound, little Frisk, but the scar on your SOUL, it does not. Though it might fade after a long time, it can still twinge sometimes._

 _*End of Flashback*_

* * *

The human teenager forcefully closed her eyes to keep herself from shedding a tear as she was staring right at some dust, placed right under the treetop.

 ***I… couldn't prevent it from happening. I was too late.**

The child didn't respond, so she stepped a step closer.

 ***You know… I wished to bring this to an end here, but…*** Undyne silently said as she let the spear she was holding fall down at the floor, ***I can't beat up a punk in grief, can I?**

Frisk's hands clenched and Undyne's fins twitched.

 ***Hey. You aren't the only one who lost someone, got that? It's a way nature deals with overpopulation. At least that's what they say…**

"You're not very good at cheering someone up…" Frisk said and Undyne's smile immediately vanished. As the fish lady didn't respond, Frisk stood up and looked at her, determination in her dull eyes. Undyne's heart suddenly started pounding as she didn't feel like that in a long time. She soon realized it was fear.

 _ ***Fear of a mere brat? Really?!***_ she thought as the kid was getting closer towards her. She pounded her armor and clenched her uneven, yellow teeth, _***WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?! I thought I was the fearless, undying Undyne! Just like they called me…***_ she looked away from her for a second, _***Haha… Fear or not…***_ she looked back at her enemy that was approaching and widely smiled, _***that doesn't mean I can't beat that punk to a pulp!**_

"I killed her", the child silently said and Undyne's expression shifted. She looked confused.

 ***What?***

"I left… I shouldn't have…"

Undyne just blinked as the kid said that.

"And it's my fault she turned to dust!"

Undyne grabbed her spear and pointed it at the approaching kid.

 ***Knock it off! You?! You killing someone?! Huh! You walk around and hug random strangers! Those who are in need of help, you help them! Those who are tired, you help them! The brave ones… the foolish ones… You are not one of them, punk.**

Frisk stopped for a moment.

 ***You're not brave… You just act like you are right now! You are a coward, running away from battle, hoping no one would ever pick a fight with you! That's why you can't win if you try to fight me, you HATE fighting! You're probably doing all those nice things 'cause you're afraid of battles. Brave, my butt!**

Frisk's eyes narrowed.

 ***Even if you're not a coward… you're still not brave. The brave ones, they won't step away. They won't run away… But more often, they are just foolish. Foolish people trying to compete… and you know what?! That's why they'll always lose! I'm… I'm not brave either*** , Undyne's smile got smaller.

Frisk took her stick out, but seemed reluctant to fight.

 ***In fact, I'm… a bit scared. Only a BIT, okay?**

"I'm scared too… But I'll fight you anyways."

 ***Fight me…? Didn't you realize I wanted to spare you?**

"The things I have done… it all comes down to this."

Undyne widened her yellow eyes filled with determination as well.

 ***What are you talking about…?! Why are you talking like that, you brat?! I… I don't remember hearing such words from a punk like you!**

"There's only one survivor in this, like you said."

 ***Challenging me?! To a battle of fate?! You crazy?! You're gonna die the second I fire a spear at you. But…*** she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she continued, ***I like your style, kid. And since I can't refuse a challenge…*** she madly grinned and bent forward, holding a spear in both of her hands, ***I'll fight you till you keel over!**

Frisk shook in fear, but held the stick tightly. For some reason, she wanted her life to end. But one the other side, she wanted to win the fight. It's like her mind was split in half.

 ***En guard!*** the fish lady exclaimed and jumped towards the human, aiming right at the red SOUL appearing in front of the child.

* * *

 _NYEH HEH HEH… HEH HEH… THEY NEED A MONSTER… HEH*_ the skeleton with high standards was walking down the dark hallway and singing some tunes he heard on TV that day. Dressed in an orange hoodie that was covering a self-made shirt which said: ' _GIVING OUT FREE HUGS',_ gloves, his blue shorts and the boots he would usually wear, he was wondering where Undyne could have been at that moment and what she was doing. He was the one who directed her to go to the big door in Snowdin, after all. Since Sans wasn't wasting time there anymore and would only hang out at Grillby's, he decided to investigate it. But being the busy cook he was, he hired Undyne to do that. The other reason why he sent her there was to keep her away from his human friend he made the other day, since he cared about that human way too much to let Undyne hurt her.

It was raining and he was carrying an umbrella, but for some reason, he didn't want to open it. He was already completely wet, but that didn't bring down his cheer. After he shook the thoughts off, he started spinning the bright red umbrella in his hand and happily skipping forward as he remembered that Sans agreed on coming home earlier to eat his homemade pasta. He couldn't wait for his brother to taste it again after such a long time. He was assured that his cooking skills improved as Mettaton's cooking show started airing again a week ago.

Not concentrating on his path, he suddenly tripped over something and fell flat.

 _OUCHIE_ _…*_ he said before pulling his face out of the wet, muddy ground. He spit the dirt out of his mouth and coughed a little before he looked back to see on what he tripped on.

*OUCH! CAN'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU STEP?! You IDIOT!?* a voice came into his ears which he didn't have and Papyrus happily smiled as he recognized the voice that spoke to him immediately. He turned around and sat at his bare shins, tilting his head.

 _FLOWERY!_

*It's Flowey, you IDIOT!* the flower angrily exclaimed and looked away for a moment. He took a deep breath before returning his sight to the skeleton and sourly smiled, *What are you even doing here? In the rain?

 _WHAT ARE_ _YOU_ _DOING… IN THE RAIN?*_ the skeleton asked the same question and opened his umbrella to hold it above the golden flower. Flowey looked upwards and frowned.

*I HATE umbrellas! I HATE them! Get it away from me!* he started yelling and shaking uncontrollably while Papyrus was patiently waiting for him to cool down a bit. A hole emerged in the flower's face as his eyes began to melt, but that didn't seem to scare the hooded skeleton. The skeleton had a patient smile on his face, like he would usually have, so Flowey stopped shaking and his expression turned normal again.

*I hate them…* the flower silently said and Papyrus happily smiled, closing his eye sockets.

He petted the flower's head.

 _I KNOW YOU DO… BUT-_

Flowey suddenly bit the skeleton and Papyrus quickly pulled his hand back, taking a glance at the wound the flower made. His eyebrows lowered, but the skeleton remained smiling.

 _FEISTY AS ALWAYS, HEH…_

Flowey rolled his eyes and started staring at the ground.

*Heard you were cooking your famous meal later… and that smiley- um… your brother's coming?

 _YES, HE IS. HOW DID YOU KNOW? MORE IMPORTANTLY_ , _*_ he widely smiled, _*_ _WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY AS WELL?_

*NO!* the flower exclaimed, but just stared at Papyrus for a while as he saw that the skeleton's smile faded. Then he smiled again, *No, no, I don't have the time… I still have some business with a human… of some sort…

 _OKAY, FRIEND! I SHALL KEEP SOME LEFTOVERS FOR YOU THEN… DON'T WORRY. YOU WON'T GO HUNGRY TO BED, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL COOK YOU SOMETHING! AMAZING! UM…*_ he looked around and got his face closer to Flowey's, * _FLOWERS… DO EAT SPAGHETTI, RIGHT?_

Flowey stared at him for a while, but then sweetly smiled.

*Sure.

 _THEN IT IS SETTLED._

*B-But… here's the thing… that brother of yours, he…

 _YES?_

*I saw him heading towards that big, scary door close to Snowdin…

 _WHAT?! REALLY…? WOWIE…*_ Papyrus suddenly frowned and looked quite sad, _*_ _I… I THOUGHT HE WAS BEING SERIOUS THIS TIME…_

Flowey's smile faded as he saw that the skeleton was really upset.

*Hey. But I'm sure he has a reason to be there… I mean, what if the human's back there as well? Could be, right?

 _HUMAN? THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE!_

*Huh? What happened?* Flowey asked, but sinisterly smirked as he knew what was happening back there. Papyrus, however, was close to tears from fear.

 _I… I SENT UNDYNE TO INVESTIGATE THAT SCARY DOOR TO KEEP HER AWAY FROM THE HUMAN… WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS NOW?! WHAT IF THE HUMAN…_

*Golly, don't go making prejudices… What if the human's actually strong and-

 _NO, THE HUMAN WOULDN'T FIGHT ANYONE… SHE'S TOO NICE TO DO THAT._

*Hey. Just a guess,* he said, winked and stuck his tongue out.

Papyrus looked down.

 _I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THE HUMAN MIGHT BE IN DANGER!_ _*_ the skeleton yelled and stood up, leaving the umbrella above Flowey's head.

*Gosh, you could be right! You have to do something…* the flower frowned and acted along.

 _I SHALL SAVE THE HUMAN IN DISTRESS! BEFORE SHE'LL DIE A LOT!*_ Papyrus exclaimed and started running out Waterfall. He was in there so many times that he already knew all the paths by heart. Flowey just stared into his direction, widely and creepily smiling. He curled up for a moment, but then he remembered he had a fight to watch, so he buried himself into the ground and headed towards the Ruins himself.

* * *

When he finally arrived, it was already too late. The human was sitting under the tree without any leaves, her head tucked in. She was shaking in fear and sadness, and one of her sleeves was torn to reveal a deep, red cut, probably coming from one of the Head of the Royal Guard's spears. Undyne was nowhere to be found. That wasn't the only problem, though.

Flowey felt some ominous atmosphere around him, just like no one was around. He soon realized that was the case. Shocked, he widely opened his eyes, but then he widely and innocently smiled. The flower felt something, but couldn't recognize the feeling. He tilted his head multiple times in multiple directions to see the human, and then he buried himself into the ground to get out of it closer to her. He was still widely smiling, showing his big front teeth.

*Y-You actually did it… you murdered EVERYONE! If I'd have any feelings, I'd be SO proud of you and overjoyed that-

"Get away from me", she said and the golden flower's smile disappeared for a moment. Something in her voice was different, almost disturbing to him. Still, he smiled again as he felt chills running down his stem. The baleful atmosphere was even stronger when he was closer to her. He remembered that dreadful feeling he'd get every time she'd look at him with her red eyes in the past. He wondered how she managed to change eye color.

*Hey… I… I always knew you'd return… to your past self, Chara.

"Stop calling me like that."

Flowey trembled at her sudden sentence. The change in her was striking.

*I'll… I'll accede to that… for a while, at least,* he gulped.

They didn't say anything after that. Flowey was looking at her from all sides, trying to get her to look at him, but she didn't seem like she wanted to. Then he looked at the top of the tree, seeing a single, red leaf swaying. Somehow, it was still holding on, unlike all the other leaves that would immediately fall down.

*H-hey, don't feel down,* he unwillingly stuttered, *I know you feel weird now… but believe me; the feeling goes away after a while. You know, when I woke up down _there,_ there was no one and nothing… I cried for help… Heh… But nobody came…

She didn't respond at all.

*I then called for my mother… my father… But-

"You think I care at this point?" she said and he suddenly stopped. He was pretty sure that if he had feelings, he would be extremely happy that she didn't care about anyone him the slightest, but something was bothering him. He felt some kind of anxiety, but wasn't sure if it was in the air or if it was actually his own feeling.

*Of course not. Monsters like us… we…* he stopped.

There was no response from the little Frisk whatsoever. After a while, the kid raised her head and looked at the golden flower, so he flinched. There were dark circles around her reddish eyes which looked empty and dull. She looked like she cried for a long time.

*You killed HER, didn't you?* he asked while frowning.

The kid nodded with a sad expression on her face. She then tucked her head in between her legs again.

*So now everyone's got to die. Isn't losing emotions a great thing?!* he yelled as she clenched her hands.

*They have to pay for that… THEY will be the ones who are going to take the blame! But… it's not your fault, Chara…

Frisk clenched her hands again as she heard what he called her.

"It… isn't…?"

*Of course not… This isn't REAL! You can do whatever you want! It's not your fault that you were born with the need of completing everything you start! That lust for power… that lust for knowledge… that revenant need to complete things in all the possible ways… even the impossible. Those feelings are driving you… It is their fault! You're… You're just like me. Just like… you always wanted me to be…

Frisk clenched her hands tighter. Her heart was beating out of her chest.

*That's why I wanted you to be that way, so you could remember who you are, what you are! My… my best friend!* he happily exclaimed and started swinging left and right again. Frisk didn't respond.

*Let's… let's finish what we started. Let's destroy this place, this world and… And head to the surface! We just have to destroy every single monster… to leave this place emptied and eventually steal the SOULs of the dead children King Dad keeps downstairs. Then we can smite every being in the world! Chara, you and me… if we are still inseparable after all those years… we are ready to _K_ I _L_ L _E_ V _E_ **R** _Y_ T _H_ I _N_ G _A_ **N** _D_ E _V_ E _R_ **Y** _**M**_ **O** _N_ S _T_ E _R_ I _N_ _TH_ I _S_ W _RET_ **C** _H_ E _D_ P _L_ A _C_ **E**.

She didn't respond.

*Chara, with you, I-* he suddenly squealed and Frisk immediately looked at him, seeing that he was under a pink slipper.

 ***her name is frisk.**

She looked upwards to see the skeleton that she thought of as a friend, and her heart suddenly hurt again. Seeing him protecting her after all she did left her baffled.

The flower then growled, but buried himself into the ground. After Flowey left, she started shaking from sadness and fear, not knowing what came to her before. She then looked at Sans' eye sockets which were empty.

"I… Sans, I just-

 ***i know what you did.**

He closed his eye sockets and remained silent for some time.

 ***buddy.**

She frowned and looked down, only to be stroked by the skeleton's cold, bony hand.

 ***i should have told you… shouldn't i?**

"Told me…? Told me what…?"

He smiled and opened his eye sockets, revealing that his pupils reappeared.

 ***kid… i… i knew she was dead…**

"You…"

 ***listen. i didn't know how you would react… i didn't want you to find out so soon, if you had reacted like it went on here, everyone outside would be dead by now… wouldn't they?**

"You kept that for yourself?! She was the only person that was ALWAYS there for me-

 ***and my bro's the only person i live for.**

She widened her eyes.

 ***if something would have happened to him… kid. you'd be dead where you stand*** , he said and closed his eye sockets.

"You know… You always told me I was a friend… But you keep telling me that I'd be dead where I stand..."

Sans didn't respond, so Frisk grabbed the stick and started trembling in guilt before she even hit him. But some unknown force was driving her to do that.

 ***didn't you know that seventy percent of a comedian's lines are actually jokes, kid?**

Her eyes suddenly got wet and she prepared to swing the sharpened stick at him. Turning all those monsters to dust when they attacked her for defeating Undyne made her practice her fighting abilities against her will. This time, it was a definite hit. She waited for him to say something or to take that statement back, but as he didn't do anything, she unconsciously yelled: "Die, comedian!"

As she swung the stick, he said: ***welp. actually, this one was really just a joke.**

He then opened his eye sockets again, but froze as he realized it was too late for him to dodge.

 _SAAAAAANNSSSSS!*_ a familiar, worried voice came from the back of his head. Everything happened in a matter of a second; at least it seemed to him like that.


	14. Chapter 14

The skeleton closed his empty eye sockets and waited for his demise to come. He knew thinking about anything now wouldn't help, but only bring him down. Still, as Papyrus' voice echoed in his skull, he couldn't help but to think of what his pure little brother was going to become without him to protect him from the cruel outside world. He wondered if he was ever going to find out how they arrived in Snowdin, if he'll ever stop being so soft, if someone was going to ruin him and if he's ever going to get better at his cooking. But the most concerning question was if he was ever going to get over him being killed by the human he adored. Thinking about it, Papyrus was never one to take negative things well and Sans remembered how he taught his little brother to always see only good in a person. With this kind of thing happening, with his loving brother and tutor turning into dust, he wondered if he was going to become just like the human.

Something hit him so that he fell to the ground.

The sound of the stick hitting something came, and Sans couldn't feel his body, nor the pain which was supposed to come before he'd melt before the human's eyes. He figured it was the shock paralyzing him. He couldn't open his eye sockets, he was afraid to. He felt some kind of pain striking his whole body, but he didn't feel like he was dying. Actually, it felt more like fear flowing through him. He then felt something touching his right arm and picking him up easily, as he felt an enormous force coming from right beside him. Soon, something pulled him harshly and he found himself curled up in a somewhat cozy, but cold place.

 _He opened his eye sockets and gaped at his little brother, seeing his eye was glowing in a reddish color. The younger skeleton's arm was placed over Sans' small body and was hugging him tightly, whilst his other arm was in the air, pointing at the human. Above the skeleton with high standards, there was a huge Gaster Blaster shooting a beam at the kid whom he still saw as a friend. The human was blown back, but remained standing on her feet, so Papyrus kept attacking. He then shot a dozen of bones through the air, shaped like a tremendous puzzle. He then sent more bones flying, but those were spinning wildly, some of them were blue, while some of them were white, normal. With the kind of speed the bones had, it looked impossible for the human to dodge. Still, she managed to dodge everything. Not even giving her a chance to fight back, he took a special bone out of his pocket. The bone was covered in yellow wrapping paper and a red bow was tied around it. The bone managed to hit the human's head. Although the last attack was kind of cute, Sans could never have even imagined that Papyrus was capable of fighting for real. The expression on his little brother's face revealed that he was reluctant to fight. The shirt he made by himself was now torn as the human apparently hit the baby bones' chest instead of the lazy skeleton lying in his brother's careful, but somewhat still weak arms. Not knowing how to respond, he looked around, only to see that the huge tree in the middle of the room fell down, forever stopping the leaves. He then just looked at the human, seeing that she was hit by a dozen of bones pointing right at her SOUL. She flew a couple of feet back and looked at the skeleton in surprise, but Papyrus just hugged his brother tighter as the human didn't look like she wanted to stop. She looked like she was filled with determination to turn him into dust now as well, but Papyrus didn't really care about himself, only about the lazybones whom he was keeping safely. As the monstrosity tried to approach the older of the skeleton brothers again, Papyrus couldn't stop his eye socket from glowing a second time and he turned her SOUL blue, after which he pushed her away, so that she hit the wall of the small, cute house. He took only 3 HP away, just because he didn't want to hurt the human. After all, he cared about her as well. He suddenly put his free arm on his forehead and closed his eye sockets, terrified of what he was doing. He then shook his head and smiled again, looking at the human who was still located at the same place as before._

 _YOU'RE… YOU'RE MY FRIEND…_

 _As Papyrus didn't want to harm her, he released her after a few seconds and Frisk leaped up at her feet, and immediately after that charged at Papyrus again. Papyrus swiftly put his older, yet smaller brother down at the floor and stood right in front of him, with his arms being spread out widely. His legs were trembling._

 _HUMAN… PLEASE STOP THIS…*_ _Papyrus' voice quivered and Sans looked up to see his brother's face darkened. He seemed close to tears._

 _ ***if i hadn't made that stupid promise, bro…**_

 _Frisk wiped something off her face as she started approaching slowly, a creepy grin on her face._

 _YOU… YOU'RE GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH… AND… AND…_

 _She charged at him again and wanted to strike him, but the young skeleton figured dodging wouldn't do any good because she was after Sans, not him. He made a bone appear in his hands and blocked her hit, but didn't attack back, even though he could have. He was just standing there, blocking the hits which were coming at him, but aimed towards his brother._

 _HUMAN… PLEASE… PLEASE STOP… I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT…_

 _Frisk started hitting even more menacingly, so Papyrus frowned._

 _I BELIEVE IN YOU, HUMAN!_

 _Sans looked up and clenched his hands into fists, but he knew he shouldn't interfere. Still, his SOUL was bouncing wildly._

 _Frisk kept pressing her stick against the bone he was holding. The one-day-fighting-training Undyne offered him seemed to have had an impact at his fighting style after all._

 _I… I ALWAYS WILL!*_ _the skeleton widely smiled, *_ _FOR YOU'RE MY FRIEND! MY GREAT, GREAT FRIEND! AND… AND I STILL WISH TO HANG OUT WITH YOU! CALL YOU NOW AND THEN… PLATONICALLY! TALK TO YOU ABOUT PUZZLES! TALK TO YOU ABOUT MY SLIMY BROTHER…_

 _ ***hey.**_

 _Papyrus looked at him,_ _*SORRY. BUT YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE*, he looked back at the attacking person, *FRIENDSHIP IS SOMETHING WHICH CANNOT BE REPLACED… AND TO LOSE A FRIEND LIKE YOU WOULD BREAK MY SOUL ON ITS OWN… SO, PLEASE, ACCEPT MY HUG OF ACCEPTANCE._

 _ ***whAT?***_ _Sans actually yelled._

 _Frisk's Attack fell, but she kept on pressing the weapon against Papyrus'. Something shone in her dull eyes, but only for a second._

 _I… I KNOW YOU'RE STILL IN THERE, FRISK! I CAN FEEL IT! PLEASE, WAKE UP… THIS IS NOT YOU…_

 _He stepped away and threw the bone away, spreading his arms again, just like he wanted to hug her. His legs were still trembling, though._

 _LET US BE GREAT FRIENDS AGAIN! THE GREATEST OF FRIENDS! PAPYRUS AND FRISK… UNPARALLELED FRIENDS! FOREVER!_

 _Frisk slowly approached him as Sans tried to get up. He failed._

 _She stopped right in front of Papyrus._

 _WHAT DO YOU SAY? SHALL WE LET ALL OF THIS VISIT THE TRASH CAN… AND SHALL WE ALL EAT PASTA TODAY, LIKE A BIG FAMILY?_

 _Frisk grinned._

 _ ***papyrus… don't do this, man…**_

 _SHUT UP, SANS!*_ _he shouted as he looked at him_ _,* CAN'T YOU SEE THAT MY METHOD IS WORKING?_

 _Frisk got even closer and Papyrus looked at her. She was now standing close enough to him; it was her choice now if she was going to Attack him, or accept his hug of acceptance._

 _AND… AND I REALLY CAN'T DO ANYTHING AGAINST HER… BECAUSE SHE IS MY FRIEND. AND FRIENDS ARE OUR BIGGEST TREASURES! YOU TAUGHT ME SO!_

 _ ***i… did?**_

 _YES?! YOU DID! YOU ALSO TOLD ME TO SEARCH FOR GOOD IN A PERSON'S SOUL. AND I FOUND GOOD! A LOT OF GOOD IN THIS HUMAN! EXCEPTIONALLY MUCH GOOD!_

 _Sans went silent._

 _AND YOU TOLD ME TO WALK WITH THAT FRIEND! EVEN IN THE DARK! AND I SHALL DO SO! HUMAN! I SHALL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THESE HARD TIMES… YES! I, PAPYRUS, SHALL BE A TUTOR TO YOU! YOUR BFT. BEST FRIEND TUTOR._

 _Frisk's grin faded. Papyrus happily smiled to accept the human's hug, but Frisk just stroke him with her sharpened stick. Sans' eye sockets turned empty. Papyrus' smile got bigger. He fell to the ground, shaking._

 _NYEH… HEH… HEH… TRUE FRIENDS… STAB YOU… IN THE FRONT?*_ _he silently said before looking at Sans who seemed just as helpless as himself, even though he wasn't hurt at all._

 _YOU… YOU ALWAYS CARED FOR ME, DEAR BROTHER… I JUST WANTED TO…_

 _Sans just widely smiled before looking at his flowery wristband, playing with it a bit._

 _Frisk got 0 XP and 0 G._

Seeing that, Frisk widely opened her eyes and started shaking uncontrollably. She suddenly realized what she did, although everything seemed like a bad dream to her. She looked at her hands to see them covered in dust. She then looked at the small skeleton, than at the big skeleton. Papyrus didn't look like he was able to stand up, but he was still eyeing the human to see what she was about to do. The skeleton was still trembling in fear. The kid suddenly looked human again as light reflected in her eyes which got wet.

" _What… What happened to me?!"_ she thought and put her hands on her hair, pressing her head as it started hurting. She looked at Sans again, seeing that there was his usual smile. His pupils reappeared as he seemed to care about the human. As she looked at Papyrus, she saw that he was trying to get up to help her, but just collapsed to the ground again.

" _Why did I…?!"_ as she thought that, she terrifyingly looked at the skeleton brothers again, shook her head and ran off the fastest she could, trying to calm her beating, sad heart.

 _HUMAN, WAIT! I CAN STILL-_

 ***papyrus*** , Sans called his name and the other looked at him, smiling after a few seconds.

 _I COULD HAVE DONE IT, SANS. WHY DID YOU MEDDLE AGAIN?*_ he said, but looked like he was about to whine, so Sans managed to stand up and approached his brother, sitting right next to him. Papyrus' expression shifted again.

 ***let's go home, pap.**

Papyrus widened his eye sockets, but widely smiled as he heard that coming from his brother. He nodded his head.

 _YES. LET'S GO HOME._

With that, Papyrus grabbed Sans' hand reaching out to him.

* * *

Snowdin was calm, calmer than usual. Sans was looking out the broken window, looking at all the plates he threw out the window the other day. He remembered how much simpler the times were back then. With the town being filled with cheerful atmosphere and kids running around the decorated pine tree, the place was never boring. Snow falling uncontrollably or not, he would always feel warm. Yet now there was no one in the town. The friendly shopkeeper wasn't around anymore, so getting supplies was a life-threatening choice of action, if there was a human with a weapon outside. The monsters would attack at random times, not only humanoid creatures, but other monsters as well. Everyone was fighting for survival, even if it meant getting rid of each other, outside the empty town. She only left a note which said 'Please don't hurt my family'. The shop wasn't robbed yet. The only person entering it now was Papyrus, who would always leave the Gold the products cost. The Inn, to Sans' amusement called Snowed Inn, was empty as well. Wind was blowing harshly and the snow was forming diverse objects. With everyone evacuated, the snow was slowly heaping up. The presents around the tree weren't visible anymore, and Sans remembered Papyrus never got his present waiting for him outside, which, of course, contained more figurines. Papyrus, however, didn't seem to care, even though television was the only thing that let him escape the harsh everyday life now. It was surprising the shows still aired, with a dangerous human let loose outside. Papyrus wouldn't watch it that frequently now, though. Sans was sure Papyrus wasn't thinking so much about the stuff happening around him, so he had to think twice as much. After he got sad by simply looking at their neglected environment, he turned his look back at the spaghetti on his plate. He propped himself up on one elbow and got close to the spaghetti which was still warm and actually smelt better than it usually would. He grabbed the fork to his side and started playing with the spaghetti by rolling it up on the fork. Then he'd raise the fork to let the slimy spaghetti fall down into his plate again. He sighed.

 _SANS._

He rolled the food up on the fork again and looked up at his brother. He was sitting right across the table, looking at Sans' pasta. He didn't eat anything.

 _STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD._

Sans rolled his eye sockets and started staring at the spaghetti again.

 _IT'S GOING TO GET COLD, BROTHER._

 ***i'm not hungry*** , the older brother said and let the pasta fall into the plate again.

 _WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT HUNGRY?*_ Papyrus asked and lowered his eyebrows, * _YOU HAVEN'T EATEN FOR DAYS, PROBABLY… YOU ALWAYS STARVE YOURSELF!_

 ***hey. i'm a bit thick boned, so…**

 _SANS… WHAT._

The skeleton's smile got smaller as he looked into Papyrus' worried eye sockets. He then got closer to the plate again, trying to scoop up some spaghetti, but it slid right out of the fork.

 ***this spaghetti is… quite… slippery.**

 _SLIPPERY,*_ Papyrus repeated and half-closed his eye sockets as he didn't know what his brother was trying to say with that, * _DO YOU MEAN SLIPPERY LIKE CAUSING THINGS TO SLIP ASIDE… OR_ _NOT TO BE TRUSTED?!_

Sans looked back at him and widely smiled, narrowing his eye sockets because of the smile.

 ***to be… or not to be.**

 _SANS._

 ***this is the question, indeed.**

 _SANS._

 ***or it might not be. but it is. to be, or not to be trusted, this spaghetti. this pasta, that lies on my death bed, whispering sweet lies to me as i-**

 _ALAS, POOR PAPYRUS!*_ he put his hands on his skull, * _ARE YOU TRYING TO BE NICE BY SPEAKING THAT WAY, OR ARE YOU JUST INSULTING ME?_

Sans finally stopped and started playing with the food again.

 ***heh. sorry, bro. i was just being… myself again, you know.**

Papyrus looked at his older brother who, even though he smiled, didn't look like he was happy. The skeleton remembered Sans when he was really happy, but couldn't think back when it was. He only knew it was a long time ago.

 _I… I DIDN'T SEE YOU BEING YOURSELF… FOR… QUITE A LONG TIME, BROTHER._

 ***i know.**

 _BUT… YOU'RE STILL YOU, BROTHER._

 ***i know.**

 _SO EAT MY SPAGHETTI._

 ***i know… not what you're talking about.**

Papyrus heavily sighed, but couldn't hide the smile that appeared on his face. Sans noticed the smile, which cheered him up a little. He sat straight again and put the fork aside to look Papyrus in the eye sockets.

 ***i… i could have handled the kid by myself, pap. you shouldn't have interfered.**

Papyrus widened his eye sockets as he wasn't expecting this kind of conversation. Sans was never one to open up and Papyrus didn't really know how to respond. He looked at his 'GIVING OUT FREE HUGS' shirt and saw the big cut in it as the sharpened stick cut right through it, reaching his calcium filled bones he got from drinking milk every day. If Sans hadn't told him to drink so much milk, he probably wouldn't have survived the fight. Papyrus just widely smiled and looked back at his brother who suddenly seemed very tired again.

 _YOU'VE GOT 1 HP, BROTHER. DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULDN'T INTERFERE IF YOU'D GET ATTACKED ALL OF A SUDDEN? I'M THE ONE WHO PROTECTS YOU, NOT THE OTHER Way AROUND, AFTER ALL._

 ***you sure are.**

 _BESIDES… EVEN IF YOU MANAGED TO DODGE THAT ATTACK, YOU WOULD STILL TRY TO HURT THE HUMAN… OR YOU'D JUST WALK AWAY. THE OUTCOME WOULD BE BAD, FOR YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO HELP HER GET OUT OF THE SITUATION._

Sans remained silent.

 _AND WHAT KIND OF BROTHER WOULD I BE. IF I JUST LET YOU ALONE._

 ***heh. but you almost got killed out there.**

 _SHUT UP, SANS! AND EAT YOUR SPAGHETTI ALREADY!_

Sans' smile vanished for a second and Papyrus stopped every movement. It was like nothing else existed for a while.

 ***you think i'd forgive myself… if something happened to you?**

After that question, the tension in the room dropped again and Papyrus smiled.

 _I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF… YOU TOLD ME I COULD DO ANYTHING IF I BELIEVE HARD ENOUGH!_

Sans smiled and sadly looked at the spaghetti again.

 ***i told you a lot of things, haven't i?**

A drop of sweat appeared on Papyrus' skull as he responded: _UM… YES?_

Sans didn't remove his pupils from the pasta which was slowly getting cold.

 _ARE YOU EVEN… PLANNING ON TASTING MY SPAGHETTI?_

 ***i really lost my appetite, bro. maybe next time*** , he wanted to stand up, but Papyrus practically fell at the table to grab his hand across it. He looked desperate.

 _BUT YOU TOLD ME YOU'D AT LEAST TASTE IT! I MADE IT ESPECIALLY FOR YOU...*_ he looked away for a moment, * _FOR WHOM ELSE, THE WHOLE TOWN WENT ON VACATION AND LEFT US BEHIND…*_ he looked back at his brother and cutely smiled, * _NONETHELESS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MADE THIS FOR YOU. TO ENJOY IT. VERY MUCH. SO PLEASE, PLEASE TASTE MY CULINARY ARTWORK! FOR I HAVE PRACTICED! A LOT, ACTUALLY!_

Sans rolled his eye sockets and sweetly smiled at his brother.

 _JUST… JUST TO MAKE YOU SMILE AGAIN…_

Sans widened his eye sockets and tilted his head.

 ***um… bro. i don't know if you need glasses or something, but i'm kinda smiling all the time…**

Papyrus sat up again and looked away.

 _NO… I MEANT… TO MAKE YOU SMILE LIKE OLD TIMES AGAIN…_

Sans sweetly smiled at that and sat back at his chair which was heightened so he could reach the table. He took the fork into his hand again and looked at his little brother, wondering if he had already seen through his disguise. They were silent for a moment, each of the brothers looking at something else. Suddenly, Sans decided to speak up: ***you have any ketchup?**

 _SANS! OH MY GOD! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!*_ Papyrus got angry and Sans widely smiled, narrowing his eye sockets. Papyrus clearly couldn't detect that his brother did that on purpose, * _YOU CAN'T JUST PUT THAT DEVILISH SAUCE ON EVERYTHING YOU SEE! THESE SPAGHETTI…*_ he pointed at his table with his whole hand* _THESE SPAGHETTI RIGHT HERE! WERE MADE WITH LOVE! WITH CARE! WITH COMPASSION AND THE BEAUTIFULLEST OF THE BEUTIFULLESTEST NOODLES I COULD FIND IN THE MARKET THAT CLOSED DOWN A DAY AGO! I CHOSE EVERY INGREDIENT WHILST BEING EXTREMELY CAREFUL, KNOWING THAT YOU'RE EXTREMELY PICKY… AND NOW YOU WANT TO RUIN THIS… THIS MASTERPIECE?! IT CONTAINS SMOKED STREAKY BACON, I REPEAT: SMOKE STREAKY BACON, FINELY DINCED, ONLY THE FRESHEST OF CHERRY TOMATOES, PEELED AND DICED ONIONS, GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE, FRESH BEEF MINCE, NOODLES, OF COURSE… CELERY! TOMATO PUREE! ROSEMARY! OREGANO! OLIVE OIL! BLACK PEPPER! CARROTS, GOOD FOR THE EYE SOCKETS! PREPARED WITH EXTRA CAUTION! ONLY. FOR. YOU. AND NOW YOU WANT TO-_

Seeing how Sans was just smiling at him, Papyrus suddenly stopped and calmed down. He then awkwardly smiled.

 _I MEAN… WE'RE OUT OF… UM… KETCHUP_ _*,_ he looked away and Sans chuckled.

 ***sounds great*** , the older skeleton responded and Papyrus happily smiled as he turned towards his lazy brother.

 _YOU MEAN IT?_

 ***i mean it. and i don't mean it to be mean… i mean it to… mean it.**

Papyrus just blinked at that, trying to look over the fact that his brother ruined the moment.

 _SO… YOU'LL TRY IT?_

Sans looked at the pasta which was, somehow, still warm. Then he looked at Papyrus. Then back at the pasta. Then back at his brother. Then back at the spaghetti. Then he heavily sighed.

 ***…sure.**

As Papyrus leaned forward to see his brother tasting the spaghetti, Sans took some spaghetti into his fork and managed to squeeze it between his teeth. After a few seconds, the skeleton hit the table with his head, covering his face. He suddenly started shaking and Papyrus, afraid he did something wrong, came up to him and started panicking.

 _SANS?! SANS?! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!_

Sans didn't respond, so Papyrus put his hands at his back and started shaking him wildly.

 _FORGET THAT… ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!_

Suddenly, Sans started sobbing and Papyrus laid him back at the table carefully. Seeing his brother sob like that for the first time, he didn't know how to respond.

 _SANS…*_ he got sad himself now.

 ***i'm… i'm sorry, bro…**

 _ARE YOU STILL BY YOUR SENSES, SANS…?*_ he asked and waited for the skeleton to make a pun out of that, but nothing came. Worried, he pulled the skeleton's face away from the table, only to see that his brother was covering his tearful eye sockets with his palms. He was still smiling, though.

 _DID I… DO SOMETHING WRONG…?_ _*_ Papyrus asked and Sans slowly shook his head.

After a few second, Sans responded by saying: ***the spaghetti… it's great, pap.**


	15. Chapter 15

He woke up early, as usual, happy and cheerful as he already forgot what happened the other day. He widely smiled as he imagined the non-existent sunlight shining through his window, although he didn't even know how it looked like. He then widely stretched and whispered: _NYEH HEH HEH…*_ as he slowly pushed the blanket off himself, crawling out of the bed. The skeleton just stood in front of his car-shaped bed for a few seconds, trying to remember where he was and who he was. After a few seconds of doing absolutely nothing, he widely opened his eye sockets and straightened, realigning his cape so he'd look as amazing and perfect as always. That day, he decided to wear his usual pants and a shirt which said 'PASTA WARRIOR'. He threw the blanket in the air and turned around to check his online status, expecting the blanket to fall right on top of the bed so it'd look perfect. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

Checking his online account, he realized there was nothing new waiting for him there. Uninfluenced, he shrugged it off and headed out of his room, kindly waving his robot figurines goodbye, imagining that the robots, all named Mettaton and a digit, were sad that he was leaving. In his head, he imagined a somewhat stereotypical scenario where Papyrus was playing the husband that had to go to war, telling that he shall return for them one day. And that the figurines shouldn't cry. Even in his head, they didn't respond at all. Undeterred by lack of popular appreciation and understanding, he swiftly walked away so he could begin his daily cooking session, but stepped wrong as he was in a hurry and gracefully tumbled down the stairs, landing at the bottom of the stairs, his head stuck in the colorful carpet containing crumbles because of Sans' nasty eating habits. Sometimes, Papyrus would think that his older brother was doing that on purpose, just so the younger skeleton would have to clean up after him. Still, it seemed like the crumbles would appear out of nowhere.

He quickly stood up straight again and acted like nothing happened at all, widely and cheerfully smiling, just like his big idol always told him to do via the television set he'd watch.

He rushed over to the kitchen and started throwing cups out of the cupboard, not realizing a dog was lying on top of the plates, his small, pinkish tongue drooling at the skeleton's skull, to find Sans' favorite one. The dog winked, facing something invisible from there.

 _OH! THERE IT IS!*_ Papyrus happily exclaimed as he found the cup. It was a small, white cup on which Sans himself was drawn. It was a bad drawing, but artistic tendencies weren't really a great thing in the family. Papyrus remembered how he would always draw on stuff as a little skeleton kid and widely smiled as he looked at all the sides of the cup. Then he slammed the cupboard shut so hard that it shook and almost fell over, but Papyrus didn't seem to notice. He cranked up the stove and slammed a pot full of cold golden flower tea on top of it whilst grabbing the pink apron he had lying on top of the stove. Surprisingly, it didn't get burnt yet. He quickly put it on and then leaned at the fire stove as he watched the blue, gentle flames hug the pot, slowly heating it up. He already saw his brother's smile getting wider as he'd bring the weeks old golden flower tea in front of him. The skeleton waited until the tea was boiling hot. He then quickly removed it from the stove and poured it into the cup, ignoring the fact that half of the tea missed the small cup. He then proudly put the pot back at the stove and turned the stove off, as Undyne always told him to. He stopped for a moment to frown as he remembered that Undyne went on vacation and didn't send him a postcard yet, but he was sure he'd get one eventually. He sweetly smiled again.

 _SHE WAS A CHILDHOOD FRIEND SLASH BULLY AFTER ALL._

He then quickly walked up the stairs again and walked up to Sans' door, lightly knocking at it.

 _SANS! I GOT YOUR MORNING TEA!_

No response was given and the impatient skeleton immediately frowned.

 _SANS. YOU LAZYBONES. OPEN THE DOOR._

Nothing came.

 _SANS!_

Since there was no response, he kicked the door open as half of the tea splashed at the carpet aside of him.

 _TEA TIME! WAKE UP YOU-*_ he stopped as he realized that no one was in there. Sans would usually be asleep until afternoon, but he wasn't anywhere to be found now. The only sign that he was here earlier was that the ball of creasy sheets on his bed was lying on the floor. As Papyrus just stood there looking at the ball, the dog in the self-sustaining tornado started barking and the skeleton frowned at him.

"Hey. Don't you have anything better to do?" The dog suddenly asked and Papyrus put the cup of tea down. He frowned even more and decided to leave, but as soon as he realized that the little white dog spoke, he looked back, but the dog was nowhere to be found.

He headed downstairs nonetheless, figuring he was just imagining stuff. The skeleton with high standards suddenly remembered how sad his brother was the other day and got worried about him. For some reason, he knew exactly where to look for him.

* * *

 ***there… there has to be… a way… to…*** the skeleton sleepily said as he leaned forward, trying to keep his empty eye sockets open while looking at the same blueprints for the whole night. All the formulas displayed on the blueprints were slowly getting etched into his skull, but he still couldn't decipher what the meaning behind this weirdly written inscription was. Suddenly, he pushed it away and put his hands at his eye sockets.

 ***…why can't i remember…**

As he felt a certain void in himself, he cleared all of his thoughts and tried to focus on the person he tried to remember all those years. But nothing came. The small, somewhat chubby skeleton curled up and slid down the worktable, hugging the blueprints tightly. He had so many memories and a mind of a scientist, yet he couldn't remember a single person who was obviously important to him. He lazily leaned forward and grabbed the small drawing which was still on the floor from the last time he was there. He never would have thought he'd pick it up so quickly.

 ***the sad part is… i remember drawing this… decades ago, i think. man. time… no. time doesn't fly. heh. time stands still for us…*** the skeleton's smile got bigger, making his face look even more tired and sad as usual.

 ***just 'cause of some kid killing stuff around her. heh. but who am i to judge?*** he asked as his eye sockets narrowed, knowing what'll happen if she wouldn't stop soon. He hoped she was going to keep her promise.

Sans heavily sighed and smiled wider again, looking at the picture.

 ***come on, sansy. it's… just another timeline…**

He looked upwards and leaned his head at the worktable.

 ***perhaps she'll restart tomorrow… perhaps everything will be the same tomorrow.**

Sans' smile disappeared.

 ***grillbz will come back and monsters will hang out there again… the town will be filled with cheer and happiness… undyne will train papy once again… yeah. and the human… well. maybe this time she will leave sooner. and heck, she might even free us from…**

He looked down again and curled up. He was surprised he was cold although he didn't have any skin.

 ***oh. whom am i kidding. i don't need no savior. i'm… genuinely happy. down here. with pap. with undyne. grillby. the kids. watching that robot tumble downstairs in a dress… stomping that annoying flower… visiting the old lady and yodeling… oh. yeah.**

He smiled yet again.

 ***heh. i was happy. looks like… many of us were, once…**

The skeleton then looked at the picture he was holding, tilting his heavy, aching skull. Something about it was off, probably the fact that the tallest person on the picture had no coloring on him. The creepy smile that person had was sending chills down his spine and Sans was proud of himself as he managed to capture that ominous vibe in such a poorly drawn picture. Still, as much as the figure was creepy, it was giving him a sense of comfort and belonging.

The short skeleton with the scientific background lowered his head and closed his empty eye sockets, trying to think about that person again. He knew there had to be a reason for him to draw such a picture, and it was surely tied to the mystery of the power that was determination.

 ***the power to destroy the current timeline and make a new, alternative universe where none of that ever happened. the power to erase a world… and start a new one. the power to play** _ **God**_ **.**

After those thoughts, he went silent. Sitting in a freezing room filled with bad memories and stuff he would never understand, no matter how much he tried. He tried to deny the fact that he wasn't smart enough, but it seemed like he really wasn't. Not only was he lying to everyone around him, he was lying to himself.

The tired skeleton remained sitting there, now trying to forget and to live in ignorance. But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

 ***my life is a joke. that's why i'm constantly smiling*** , the skeleton sadly said and wrapped his arms around his shins, resting his head on his knees.

 _UM… BROTHER… WHAT ARE YOU… WHAT IS THIS…?*_ Papyrus' loud voice suddenly echoed in the room and Sans raised his head up slowly to look at his younger brother staring at the weird and complex drafts hung up neatly around the room. Sans widened his eye sockets, his white pupils returning and his smile widening.

 ***hey… bro… 'sup?**

Papyrus angrily put both of his hands at his hips and frowned at his short brother.

 _YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP, BR-_

Sans suddenly started laughing and Papyrus just watched him for a moment. As Sans' smile was only getting louder and more annoying by time, his eye sockets narrowed.

 _WHAT?_

 ***bro… why are you…?*** Sans couldn't finish as he burst into loud, notorious laughter. Papyrus looked away from him as his eye sockets narrowed even more. He couldn't understand his brother's behavior and just stood there, waiting for Sans to stop laughing.

 _WHAT._

Sans was still laughing, but managed to say: ***wearing this pink apron?**

 _BROTHER! WHAT IS SO FUNNY ABOUT ME CARING ABOUT YOU! AND HAVING A PINK APRON. I WAS SICK OF WORRY! BUT, DEAR BROTHER! I KNEW EXACTLY WHERE TO FIND YOU! WELL… THAT. WOULD BE TRUE… IF I KNEW WE HAD A SECRET ROOM BEHIND OUR HOUSE. IN TRANSLATION…*_ a drop of sweat appeared on his skull* _I WENT TO GRILLBY'S. THAT'S RIGHT. TO THAT… GREESE FILLED HUB. TRULY A LABYRINTH OF BAD CHOICES. AS NOBODY WAS THERE, I TRAVELLED ALL THE WAY BACK TO THAT SCARY DOOR WHERE UNDYNE WENT A FEW DAYS AGO,*_ he looked away for a moment,* _BUT… I GOT SCARED SO I RETURNED,*_ he then straightened again as he slowly put his hands back to his hips,* _BUT THEN! THEN I WENT TO CHECK YOUR ROOM AGAIN. I LOOKED UNDER YOUR BED,*_ he looked away again,* _THERE WAS ONLY A WHITE, MEDDLING CANINE,*_ he looked at his older brother, who was widely smiling at him, * _I THEN PROCEEDED TO CLEAN YOUR ROOM… BUT I COULDN'T STOP THAT SELF-SUSTAINING TORNADO FROM… WELL… EXISTING. SO I QUICKLY HAD TO GIVE UP AND WANTED TO SIT ON YOUR BED._

Sans was widely smiling as he saw that his brother was about to tell yet another long, long story. Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets again.

 _I SAT ON THE DOG._

Sans burst into laughter.

 _IT'S NOT FUNNY, SANS! THE DOG BIT ME!_

Sans' laughter intensified and Papyrus started bashing the floor with his left foot like an angry, agitated bunny.

 _IT'S REALLY NOT FUNNY! HE STOLE MY WHOLE ARM!_

 ***oh. that's the reason why you don't get it.**

 _WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT!?_

 ***you know. i find this little incident quite humerus.**

 _SANS!_

 ***sorry.**

 _AS I PROCEEDED TO CHASE HIM, I REACHED MY ROOM WHERE THE DOG LEFT MY ARM ALONE IN EXANGE FOR MY BOX FULL OF BONES. ALL MY ATTACKS, SANS! ALL MY ATTACKS!_

 ***so cool.**

 _IT'S NOT COOL, SANS._

 ***so cool.**

 _SANS._

 ***so cool.**

Papyrus angrily stared at him for a moment and Sans looked away.

 ***sorry.**

 _HE STOLE MY COOL BONE AS WELL… ANYWAYS! I THEN TRIED TO SEARCH FOR YOU IN MY ROOM, SINCE I KNOW YOU WERE MESSING WITH MY UNDERNET PAGE THE OTHER DAY… TELLING PEOPLE LIES._

Sans blinked and stood up, leaning at the worktable.

 _I LOOKED UNDER MY BED! NOTHING. I LOOKED UNDER MY BOOKSHELF. NOTHING. I LOOKED UNDER METTATON #41. …NOTHING EXCEPT GLAMOUROUS POWDER… nyeh. IN MY CLOSET! NOTHING. SO I WENT IN. THE DOG THEN STARTED BARKING, ALL OF A SUDDEN, AND ME, AS GREAT AS I AM, WANTED TO HELP THAT POOR LITTLE CANINE. AS I GOT OUT OF THE CLOSET, THE DOG STARTED RUNNING, AND THUS, I DID THAT AS WELL. AND… THEN HE LED ME TO YOU._

 ***oh. yeah. forgot we were here…*** Sans widely smiled and looked away before approaching his brother and starting to push him out of the small lab. But his brother refused to move.

 _SANS… WHY HAVEN'T YOU TOLD ME ABOUT THIS PLACE? WHAT IS THIS?_

 ***a… lab.**

… _DOES THAT MEAN YOU KEEP DOGS IN HERE?_

 ***… nope.**

 _OH._

 ***well then, goodbye.**

 _NO, WAIT! SANS!*_ Papyrus took him by the shoulders and looked into his eye sockets, seeing that he wasn't very happy, although he seemed to be, * _I… I CAME ALL THIS WAY… ALL THOSE TEN FEET TO TALK TO YOU… YOU SEEMED KIND OF DOWN YESTERDAY, SO I TRIED TO MAKE YOU… HEY! WHAT'S THAT?*_ Papyrus asked as he grabbed the small drawing Sans was holding. The older brother widened his eye sockets and started leaping around in a slow pace to get the drawing back.

 ***papyrus… pap. it's… nothing. really.**

 _HEY? IS THAT ME?_

 ***papyrus…**

 _WOWIE! I LOOK SO… UM. OH, LOOK! IT'S YOU! B-BUT…_

Sans stopped and crossed his arms.

 _WHO IS… THAT?_

Sans was silent as his brother's smile vanished. He seemed like he couldn't remember anything nor feel anything.

 ***i… don't know, bro.**

Papyrus sadly looked at him and gave him back the picture, trying to hide the disappointment that was clear in his eye sockets.

 _YOU… SINCE YOU DREW IT… YOU SHOULD KNOW…_

 ***it's… nothing worth your concern, bro…**

Papyrus suddenly seemed down.

 _WHY DON'T YOU EVER-_

 ***papyrus, please. it's nothing, really… hey. um… did you see the human today? i've been trying to find her, but she doesn't seem to be around… she shouldn't be far… would you mind looking for her?*** he said, knowing that Frisk had gone off far already. He would never send his little brother after such a dangerous human after all.

Papyrus was looking at him for a moment, knowing that his brother was keeping secrets from him, even though he was always ready to listen to his problems. Papyrus wished he could help him, but he knew if Sans didn't want him around, he shouldn't even be around. So he falsely smiled, trying to conceal his feelings.

 _YES… YES! OF COURSE! FEAR NOT, DEAR BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS,*_ he straightened and removed the pink apron from himself, letting it fall on top of his shorter brother's skull, * _SHALL FIND THE HUMAN AND BRING HER HERE IMMEDIATELY! FOR AS YOU KNOW, I AM VERY GREAT._

 ***you sure are*** , the short skeleton said as he raised the apron from his right eye socket so he could look into his brother's eye sockets.

 _AND I SHALL… I SHALL MAKE HER… YOU KNOW. HUMAN AGAIN._

Sans' smile disappeared for a moment before he slowly nodded, sweetly smiling at his brother who meant the world to him. Papyrus then made his way to the door, but stopped there and turned around to look at Sans who lazily pulled the apron off his skull. The young skeleton then smiled as he saw that Sans was worried about him.

 _UM… BROTHER._

 ***yes, bro?**

 _YOU… BELIEVE IN ME… DON'T YOU…?_

Sans' eye sockets widened at that, but he managed to get the thought of his little brother getting turned to dust out of his head. As much as he wanted to believe in his abilities, Sans knew Papyrus would never hurt the human. He even halved all of his attacks to make sure she wouldn't suffer any damage. The older brother knew he would rather get killed himself than fight his potential friend. Nevertheless, he smiled. He smiled to show that he cared about him and to show that he wasn't alone, no matter how hard the times seemed.

 ***bro.**

 _Y-YES…? BROTHER?_

Sans shrugged his shoulders as he put his hands into the pockets of his blue hoodie.

 ***sure. why not?**

* * *

* **Y-** You… Wh-what are you… you… Did you bring _them_ again? I… I do-don't want anyone to… to be here right now, sorry…* she stuttered while cleaning her glasses by rubbing them into her lab coat as she was looking at the figure standing in front of the door of the laboratory. It was yet another hot day in Hotland and monsters were nowhere to be seen. Alphys seemed terribly scared, confused and sad as she was looking at the person in front of her. She didn't really know how to feel as she hasn't seen him for years. His face looked still the same as before, and his smile was just as bright as it would always be. She tried to slam the door, but the monster put a his arm at the automatic door to hold it.

~Um… What are you… trying to do…? You don't just slam the door in front of a person you didn't see for five long years! Alphys! My, you haven't changed at all, it would seem. Well, that's… that's not really a problem… Just saying.

Alphys didn't look very happy about the sudden visit so he looked away from her for a moment and heavily sighed. He then sweetly smiled as he pushed the door open again, entering the old lab without her permission. He put both of his hands on his hips and looked around, commenting something on the decoration of the place. He then looked at the hole in the wall which was still there after all those years and shook his head, smiling. Alphys rolled her eyes, but approached him anyways.

~Don't worry. I… I let them behind… this time.

* **W** ow… I… I haven't seen you such… such a long time! You haven't changed at all and…* she suddenly stopped as she realized something wasn't fitting into place. She then frowned and walked towards her real lab again, opening the door. Before entering, she looked back at him and frowned just like she knew he wasn't there for her. He was seeking something yet again.

* **W** hat are you really here for?* she asked and walked into the lab. The visitor waited for a few seconds to see if she'd come back, but since she didn't, he followed her into the dark, sinister laboratory.

~Wait, Alphys, it's not what you… Okay, well. Well, well, well. Welly well well. Well welly well well, well well welly. Um… it's actually regarding something… some decision you made… and I, look, I can't just accept it... just like that. I mean… I've got a life and you practically made all of that happen… so why take it away from me…?~ he told her as he was walking down the sinister hallway of the grimy, dark, fog-filled lab, looking at the gray, simple wall which was emitting some kind of white slime. He made a disgusted face and quickly followed her left. He then turned around and looked back at the Popato Chisps vending machine, looking quite surprised by opening his mouth, even though he wasn't at all. He then followed her again.

The small reptilian monster stopped in the room with three sinks. He then stopped as well, trying to locate her in the dark. He wondered how she could even see in such a dark room without his flashing, colorful lights that were filling the room with splendor.

* **I** have no intention of giving up on my plan… you should just give it up… It's far safer that way…

~You can't just do that, Alphys!~ he shouted~ You can't take them away from me! They need me, darling! I can't just give them up… You can't just evacuate them all… Darling. Look, I know it's hard for you, but…~ he said and put a hand on Alphys' shoulder.

Alphys forcefully removed his gentle hand from her and clumsily walked towards the boxes with supplies she prepared for all of the evacuated townsfolk. She wasn't about to give up what she started just for an old friend showing up to stop her from doing the right thing. While moving the heavy boxes, she looked back at the self-absorbed robot and disappointingly sighed. Mettaton was just standing there, his long, shiny arms crossed on his flamboyant pink chest. Everything on him was the same, even though monsters around him were turning to dust. From his fashionable haircut to his huge ego displayed even on the most sincere face he could possibly make while being in the robot form she spent a whole year on as every programming variable was named after Undyne.

* **M** ettaton… You should really be ashamed of yourself*, she stated and the robot puffed his cheeks out and looked at the ground, *this… this isn't about your stupid shows anymore! A real human is trying to kill us all… and… and you can't stop thinking about yourself! N-not only that nobody's gonna… you know, watch you anymore, they'll all be dead!*

Mettaton was looking at the ground, his arms still crossed.

* **S** o stop being like that! The human… she is… she… Undyne…* Alphys stopped and focused on picking up the heavy box, trying to forget what she was talking about. As Mettaton saw her sad face, he sighed again and evened his bangs before approaching the yellow monster.

* **Y** -You should really start thinking about others too… It's not that you're protected from her as well… And if I don't do something, I don't think anybody else will… But if we all work together…*

~Darling…

* **I** f we all stop looking at ourselves for a moment… and… and just… take a thing and… And do it right for once, darn it… An- and… if… If we ignore our needs, maybe the others will survive! And…* she was saying as she was trying to lift the huge box full of Popato Chisps and Golden Flower tea.

~Alphys.

* **S** elflessness is what we… we need right now… and… the lives of monsters are far more important than your show ever will be… and… and… Undyne and I definitely never watched it and…

Mettaton widely smiled.

~Alphys, darling.

* **B** -Believe me… losing someone close to you can… can really b-be hurtful sometimes and… and… um… ugh!* she said as Mettaton picked her up like she was nothing and hugged her tightly, wrapping his extendable arms around her chubby body, swaying her, what he thought was gently, left and right as her right cheek was pressed against his chest plating. She went red in her face and soon started flailing around to get out of the robot's arms which were suffocating her. He didn't seem to get what she was doing, or at least he didn't mind it. He reopened his left eye and looked down at her.

~You miss her… don't you…?

Alphys suddenly looked down and slowly nodded. He then smiled and sat down at his shins.

~Oh, dear Alphys… Don't you worry… You've still got me, the biggest and brightest star in the whole Underground! The only star, to be exact!

* **T** hat doesn't he-

~Now. Let me sing you a song to make you feel better. Come on, like old times! And one, and two, and…

* **N-** No, wait, I'm-

~ _Oh my love, Just run away, That human, Don't want us here!_

* **M** ettaton…

~ _We all must, Evacuate, Even if, I lose my job! Else we'll die, she'll kill us all, it'll hurt, and then we'll turn to dust!_

* **U** m… That's not really…

~ _Really sad, We're gonna die, Cry cry cry, So sad we'll die!_

Alphys was looking up at him in confusion as he was so confident while singing about their demise. His eyes were closed and there was a wide, sweet smile on him. He soon reopened his bishounen eye and looked at Alphys' baffled expression. He slowly blinked before his sweet smile got smaller.

~Oh, dear Alphys…~ he suddenly quit acting and just frowned~ Just give up. It's no use.

Alphys blinked a few times.

~A serial killer let loose? Situated in Hotland? You think you have time to evacuate every single resident of the Underground?! Huh! Cute, Alphys, real cute~, he said while frowning.

* **W** e-we'll have to try… I mean, I'll have to try… I mean…

Mettaton was looking into her eyes with a frown on his face as he knew she didn't have a clue how she could manage to do that.

* **I** m-mean… I know*, she said and frowned, so Mettaton's arms stopped squeezing her that much. He still didn't let go, though. He then proudly smiled at her before looking away again, sighing.

~That human… I'm pretty sure she'd get me some views...

Alphys frowned and puffed her cheeks out as she heard him say that, but she smiled anyways.

* **I** knew it was all for the views, you scrapmetal of a living being.*

Mettaton opened his mouth in surprise, but couldn't hide a huge smile that showed up on his handsome face.

~Excuse me… You made me this way, darling. So it's your fault too…

* **I** didn't build that body for you so you could walk around behaving, like, so… how should I say it…*

~Just don't say it, darling. That's a way better choice~, the robot sincerely smiled and put his arm at his forehead to pose dramatically, ~But you know me! Always using the opportunity to shine!

* **A** nd stepping in front of that human would probably blow up your motherboard…*

~Hey. You haven't seen me in action for a long time. So don't judge what you don't know, sweetheart,~ he said as his smile sweetened, ~Oh, and to have such a human on the show… DO YOU SEE ALL THESE RATINGS in your mind, darling? I'd be… I'd be…

He suddenly stopped and frowned for a second. He then stood up proudly, putting his free arm on his hip.

~Thinking about others, darling! That's it!~ he took her by her chubby arms and raised her in the air to look at her bewildered face,~ I have a plan! While you're evacuating the town… I will face the human by myself! I might not get as many views, but… I'll still live up to the expectations of people watching me! Hey. There will have to be at least ONE to watch me, am I right? ONE IS ENOUGH! As long as I get my praises… daily...

Alphys was just staring at his proud smile for a moment before she widely smiled and widened her eyes, happily flailing.

* **M** ettaton! You're a genius! I can… I can…

~You can finally be the hero you deserve to be darling. _And I get to drown in kisses and roses every day for the rest of my beautiful and glamorous life._ And the world will be saved by that selfless act of yours!~ he said and hugged her again, hoping she'd forget Undyne for a moment. Again, she was slammed to his chest plating.

* **A** gain… I'd say the same… But I know I'd be lying then…* she said and his eyes narrowed.

~Ah… As much as it's weird for me to say that… It's nice to have you back, darling, those amateurs don't even know how to get make-up on a celebrity's glamorous face…

Alphys smirked as her glasses reflected Mettaton's pink light.

* **P** fffffft, amateurs. Bet they don't even know what anime is.

Seeing Alphys happy like that brought old memories to his mind and he suddenly felt something he didn't feel for a long time. Sure, he got praises and gifts every day, but she was something else.

~ _A… friend… that's what she is~_ he widely smiled, but soon looked away as his smile got a little smaller. As Alphys saw that, she looked at him and asked: * **U** m… Mettaton… Wh-What's the matter…?*

He looked at her, then away, then again at her, all while having the same expression on his face.

~…Darling. You… um… You're sweating… again.

Alphys embarrassingly smiled.


	16. Chapter 16

" _ **In the beginning, there was only darkness. Soon, there was silence as deafness grabbed my ears for a moment to pull them down towards the abyss. Complete and utter void was leaning towards me, bounding its heavy, slimy black body towards me, slowly suffocating me with it. It was cold. Freezing. I could feel dread rushing through me as I felt a presence of something quite unsettling.**_ _ **"**_

"Fourteen left", she said in a dull voice, her eyes half-opened, engraving yet another line into a dried, red rock next to her. The rock was full of vertical lines and each fifth would cross the four previous ones horizontally. The knife she held in her arm was dusty. The weird part to her was that she didn't remember getting it at all.

" _ **The black suddenly hugged me from behind, thousands of shadow spears piercing right through my back, just as I wanted it to happen. Yet… those spears weren't real. They were just part of my imagination, agitating me even further. I withstood it all. The darkness crept closer to me as I tried to escape its tight grip, but it soon tied my whole body up, letting me crave for**_ **their** _ **presence again. That was, however, not my wish. Not my real wish. Just a blurry piece of unsettling memories from my uninteresting, boring past, aching for my return to it. To hug it back. Cherish it. Live it. But no… I just wanted to fall. The void soon slammed me down, disproving**_ **their** _ **theory of the bottomless pit. This pit clearly had a bottom, peaceful, silent. A dead end of despair and suffering. Every part of my body hurt, but it was not enough.**_ _ **"**_

Frisk's eyes were slowly closing as she felt an ominous presence spiraling around her.

" _ **The surface… I hated every part of it. And it hated every part of me. I couldn't get enough of that bizarre feeling ripping my SOUL apart, slowly and painfully. But I was too weak to hurt anybody… and couldn't please the desire to see them all suffer. The despicable creatures dwelling on it. Their laughs… their smiles… everything on them… SCARRED me. It was like all their hatred was poured into one single human child, leaving all of the negativity in that one, single child. ME. Hubristic pride. Greed. Lust for harming people. Every time I would look at those ones that still weren't filled with hatred… I would receive another blow, even though I knew they'd all eventually drown in evil. Gluttony. Sloth. Wrath. Could it be that it was really like that? That**_ **those** _ **creatures chose one unfortunate being of their species to pour all the evil into it…? Every generation…?**_ _ **"**_

Frisk closed her eyes as she leaned at the red rock which contained too much dust.

" _ **I couldn't care less, actually. What is, is. What has been, has been. What will be, will be. It is not up to YOU to decide what you will do next, Frisk.**_ _ **"**_

Frisk shook, although she didn't hear anything.

" _ **They all just wanted for me to suffer… and I did. So I went on to end my life, but… another plan shaped in my head very soon. Two soft, small hands suddenly took me and picked me up, bringing me on to my knees. A silent, worried voice came into my ears:**_ __ _*Oh hi, what's your name?*_ _ **the voice asked and I reluctantly told the thing what my name was. As he helped me get up I felt nothing. But seeing his adorable, little face smiling worryingly at me, I felt a weird feeling that I never felt before… ENVY. Why did he care? What was the reason for such an outrages, nice welcome? I… couldn't understand. It was something I had never experienced up to that point. His name was ASRIEL, he said. WAS.**_ _ **"**_

Frisk was in deep sleep at that point. She didn't remember anything she did in the past. That was the doing of the entity's words in her head.

" _ **He took me to his family. Monsters. They accepted me as a… family member. And Asriel? He was so happy to have me around that he actually cried. He soon took me to see the others as well… they were all… MONSTERS. Beings that everyone despised. I, however, didn't. They had great potential. I felt great fondness for those creatures, especially for the one who rescued me. Naïve. Unadventurous. Kind. Sickly compassionate. He'd cry every time someone would hurt himself or get sick, that pathetic little wimp. I decided he'd be my new target. I didn't need the humans, now that I had him. In fact, I DIDN'T NEED ANYONE. Our 'friendship', as he would call it, lasted long, I guess. His parents would make pie and tea every day and every night and EVERYONE was so SICKLY tiring. I hated the cheerful atmosphere, the vivid colors the monsters would display. When MOM didn't give me my CHOCOLATE. I HATED it! I HATED it ALL! As of Asriel, we had fun together. All those flowers we drew… all those times we played in our room. The way we'd throw mother's snail pie under the table to make sure we wouldn't get sick after eating it… although it was a great dish to him. When we made the heart lockets together, to make sure we would never grow apart, I told him. When we went to Waterfall to watch the shiny rocks. He told me I was a star, since he didn't know what a star was.**_ _ **Making… flower bracelets**_ _ **. Look at our reflections on rainy days was the best after stealing chocolate… since Asriel would always wonder why mine was out of place. We'd sometimes talk for hours as we'd lie in bed, looking at the ceiling. He was afraid of the dark and I'd often mock him… but we still talked. A LOT. It was… not just Asriel who was so kind towards me. There were our parents. Small insignificant Monsters too. An annoying, very young comedian. A tall, slender skeleton who'd always give me sweets when I visited his lab to mess with his inventions… Everyone was nice. But… I didn't feel anything. And to me, those memories will always be… JUST UNIMPORTANT, BORING MEMORIES. I felt… agitated by the fact that I couldn't feel the same. I told that to my brother once… and he just hugged me. The only thing I could do was stop myself from hitting him, although I didn't feel anything for him, I knew what he was doing. CRYING AGAIN. …So I decided to destroy it all as well. But first, we had to eliminate the outside world… to make them pay that I ever came to existence. And while I and little Asriel were drawing pretty yellow flowers, I leaned closer to him and said: "SIX. We need SIX SOULS to cross the barrier." He was confused. Of course. But he didn't even question it since he trusted me completely. He'd do everything what I'd say… We poisoned Asgore's drink to prevent our parents to go look for us as we were about to go play outside. Funny, how that little monster believed me, trusted me with his whole heart and SOUL. But he was too pure for this world to remain like that... We went outside, and he was crying. I was holding a knife I grabbed from our mother. Who didn't give me chocolate YET ANOTHER time. With a smile on my face, I faced the puny monster goat and challenged him to a battle… just that I didn't tell him anything. He took the first hit and fell at is backside, but finally stopped whining, from the shock. I grinned widely, seeing his small, fragile body almost getting killed at the first turn. With a sad and confused expression on his face, he whispered:**_ __ _*H-Hey… Stop that. It… hurts…*_ _ **he said as he realized there was something wrong with his perfectly white fur. It was not so white anymore, but rather… THE COLOR OF BLOOD. He didn't know what it was, though, he just started whining again. Pathetic, isn't it?**_

" _ **It's okay to be scared, Asriel. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." I tried to slice him in half, but the goat leaped away and wished to escape. TOO BAD HE COULDN'T RUN FAST ENOUGH. He looked like a pitiful little worm as he was scared for that. Ironically, that's just what he turned out to be at the end. He wiped a tear off and started shaking as he realized what was happening.**_

 _*B-Battling…? Chara, mom said we shouldn't do that, remember? The last time you… you know… did that to a monster, our parents got really angry with me…*_

" _ **And you were really a great friend by taking all that blame", I finished his sentence as he seemed too weak to be able to even say the word DEATH, DUST and HATRED. Unable to say three out of four of my favorite words…**_

 _*I… I never even saw what you did to that Monster… Is he feeling alright now?*_ _ **Asriel asked, as ignorantly as always. There was just no hope for him in the world… Why bother teaching him the basics then? I flailed my weapon at him, but he dodged again.**_

" _ **COME ON. Don't you want to FIGHT back?" I asked and saw his face getting darker, maybe it was the way I told him that part. Oh well.**_

 _*We really shouldn't be doing this…*_

" _ **Stop being such a wimp and attack me already. I'M WAITING FOR YOU," I said and approached him, leading him towards the wall of our house. He was tripping over his own feet that were full of dust. He didn't realize that though, "You know what happens if you keep me WAITING, do you not?"**_

 _ **He was just staring at me dispiritedly for a moment, trying to get why I was suddenly behaving like that. The funny part was that I was always like that, but he was just too DUMB to realize it. Such childish innocence… I considered it as a serious condition. I was SICK OF IT. The small goat quickly nodded his head multiple times as he was staring into my eyes. His were full of dread and he was quivering in front of me. The knife**_ **somehow** _ **got to his shoulder then, pinning his shirt to the wall. Unfortunately, I didn't strike him. You should have been there when he almost lost his consciousness… It was GREAT. "You want that to happen again, huh…?" I asked and he quickly shook his head as I released him. I would have made it quick, but he refused to do anything, so it wouldn't really be fun. So… we went inside and ate pie instead… STILL. He promised he'd play with me one day… and when that day came… HE FAILED HORRIBLY. Resulting the great event in double-suicide."**_

Frisk suddenly stood up and looked around to see if there was anyone near her. As nobody was, she grabbed the knife lying next to her and stood up, continuing on her journey towards an oddly-set up part of Hotland that looked kind of welcoming.

" _ **That's why I needed some other vessel. A new, better one. One that isn't made out of pure innocence and ignorance. I needed physical strength and knowledge… Incredible intelligence as of yours. Someone who'd DO IT. I needed you, Frisk. No… not just one of you. ALL OF YOU. To make sure at least one wouldn't disappoint me... To make sure all life perishes eventually. Or… at least to make our wonderful story complete… TOGETHER."**_


	17. Chapter 17

„ _ **You don't need friends… You have me… You don't need love… you have LOVE… You don't need happiness… you have EXP…"**_

Those were the only words stuck in her head as she was slowly marching forward, not even realizing she couldn't see anything as the whole room was pitch black. She was listening to her heavy, loud steps that were echoing around her as she was trying to keep her tired, dry eyes open. Every step she took hurt like the pain she'd feel every time she'd remember the dust of her mother in her own hands. That feeling she'd get before didn't appear now, though. It was like there was nothing that could change her mind at this point.

" _ **It's their fault. THEY killed her. You did nothing wrong…"**_

"I… did nothing wrong…" she silently said and suddenly stopped like someone told her to. But other than the voices in her head, there was nothing to be heard.

" _ **The comedian."**_

"The…" Frisk uttered, but stopped as she looked at her wrist where a golden flower bracelet was on.

" _ **Yes. He got you out, didn't he…? Which was followed by the death of your… mother, should I say?"**_

Frisk bit her lower lip and nodded, but as the voices in her head disappeared, she almost fell unconscious, but withstood the sudden pain in her head by putting her small hands on top of her it. She shook her head quickly and raised it up again, only to be surprised by stage light that fired three shots of light right in front of her. The confused human stepped a few steps back as she feared something bad was about to happen. A second after she stepped away, she realized she had nothing to fear as she was **level 17**. As the light began to circle around the place, she saw a tall figure standing a few feet in front of her, hands widely spread like that monster was waiting for little Frisk to attack it just like she attacked Papyrus. She widely grinned and slowly pulled her knife out of her pocket. Then, a huge beam of light fell right at the centre, revealing the slim figure standing there, but the only visible thing were its outlines. Frisk suddenly felt great anxiety deposited on her SOUL, so she completely froze. Suddenly, a loud instrumental came playing from somewhere afar.

~Oh. So you FINALLY decided to show up, huh, little, fake monster?~ a snicker came from somewhere. She immediately recognized the monster's voice~ I bet you've been aching to see me since I turned everything down… I wandered far and wide with my trusty cameras, pretending to be on safari for humans which resulted in people's loss of interest for my show... I spent whole five minutes trying to talk Alphys into talking Undyne into finding you… I even had to play a part in the Royal Guard game whilst a big-mouthed skeleton was waiting for a human as well. His enthusiasm failed to keep me entertained, though… and he soon vanished and I got stuck in the snow in my box form. A couple of viewers left me that day… Waiting for a human to step into our beautiful, beautiful world, I decided not to "waste" my time any longer and try to "do something" with my life, as she said… but… This isn't the time to talk about that, darling. Lamentations are sung only at Mondays. But NOW!

As the voice exclaimed that, light suddenly filled the room and Frisk just stood there, staring at the slim, glamorous body the monster in front of her had. His shiny body was reflecting the light above, causing hundreds of little sparkles to dance around him as he just proudly stood there. The first thing she saw were his long, nicely shaped black-clad legs which were covered by a pair of hot magenta-colored high-heeled boots. His waist was pretty slim and displayed a gray part which was seemingly containing something at the front side. He had broad shoulders with black shoulder plates on them and very thin, long arms which were carefully placed at his hips. His hands were covered by perfectly white and clean gloves which seemed somehow familiar to her as they were tightly clenched.

" _What… happened."_

~While you've been aching to see my new model… I've been aching to meet you as soon as a friend of mine mentioned you one day. _Fama volat._ I would have never found out… weren't there some valuable sources of information…

He kept on talking and Frisk still just stared. She didn't really know what to think as the figure raised a hand and slammed it at his forehead, sighing loudly.

~But the things they told me about you weren't nice. Not nice at all. But since I dedicated my whole life to humans and their intriguing culture, I have decided to give you another chance. Look, in battle I'd be no match, but darling, on stage…~ he put his index finger at his chin~ Usually, I'd be really nice and annoying and offer you a little quiz, tease you a bit, tease dear Alphys a bit… But not like that, sweetheart. Not. Like. That.

As he said that he turned around and spread his arms out again, finally showing his face to the child which stared at him like she saw a ghost. The ghost wasn't visible anymore, though.

A pink SOUL, she didn't know if it was fake or real, was contained in a box contraption. He had a pink chest plate which had a pressure gauge on one side, and a set of small holes at the other. His face looked quite pale and had visible metal segments under and above his left eye which was charmingly aiming at the child's eyes. His eye was half-closed and had make-up under it, just like he was impersonating human rock stars. He had a nice, wide, confident smile spread across his glamorous face as his pearly white dental plates were reflecting the light above them. The robot had black hair with a long fringe that covered the right side of his face. As he saw that the kid was only staring at him with eyes wide open, he pucked his lips and smiled even wider.

~Oh. You seem to like it as well… That's quite the surprise… NOT. Even serial killers crave for my presence... I always knew it.

Frisk's eye twitched and he posed dramatically.

~Well, well, welly, well, well. Very well. I won't go easy on you just because you seem to be enchanted by my new appearance. Alphys did work on it a whole year…

Frisk's eyes narrowed and Mettaton's expression changed in an instant.

~Wait… this look you're giving me… No. Nope. No. You absolutely adore me, am I right?~ he smiled as his eye twitched now as well and he bent forward. After awkwardly staring at each other for a few seconds, the tall robot suddenly straightened again and snapped his fingers.

~Lights, camera, ACTION!

Instruments started playing cheerful music in the distance and Frisk turned to look where the sound was coming from, but stopped as she realized that she was in a room that looked like a kitchen without the western and eastern wall. The floor was covered by blue polka dots and the wall that was made out of cardboard slowly burning up at the heat was cream-colored. A fake lamp was attached to it as well. There was also a fridge, more cupboards, a stove and a microwave glued to the cardboard. An obviously fake window was on the wall, showing the pretty blue outside with fluffy clouds slowly passing by. Frisk admired their determination to build the ruse up anyways. There was a large table placed right at the center of the room which was looking like it was meant for two monsters or humans or a monster and a human to cook on it. A knife and a fork were glued to the table as well, just like a purple bowl, which was probably glued to the table because Mettaton was a real klutz. She remembered watching him trying to crack an egg for five minutes straight till he suddenly slammed it so hard that the bowl with fresh ingredients flew right into the air and then right back at him, falling on top of his rectangular body. He then proceeded to pose dramatically for the next two minutes or so, until a commercial break came up.

~You, my darling, are my SPECIAL GUEST today! Come, join me at _"Cooking with a Killer Robot"_ ~ he said and confetti and sparkles started falling from the ceiling and dancing around Frisk who was just frowning.

~Come on, beauties and gentlebeauties, let's give a hand to our WONDERFUL contestant!~ he started clapping and clapping noises came from the distance as well. As he got closer to her with a wide smile on his face, she took the knife out and hit him with it right at his chest plate, though it didn't do any damage except a small scratch. He suddenly stopped every movement and the music faded away. A gasp came from under the counter. The robot blinked twice before charmingly smiling and taking the knife out of her small hand.

~Let's not be THAT hasty, dear. We DEFINITELY don't WANT to hurt anybody, now do we…?~ he said through his teeth, revealing his sharp eyeteeth, and threw the knife away. There was a distant, manly scream soon after that. He then sweetly smiled again and grabbed a notebook.

 _-I hate MY LIFE!-_ the voice in the distance shouted, but Mettaton chose to ignore the familiar voice.

~Wait… if you won't cook, we might do some news… Ah! Here it is! Let's see… _A Dog Exists Somewhere! Massive Murder Conducted by a Teen! Skeleton Accidentally Covers House in Spaghetti! Mettaton's New (SPOILER) Hit Single Announced!_ _Local Robot Stabbed 30 Times in the Chest by a Hu_ -~ he widened his eyes and widely smiled again, throwing the notebook away,~ Let's… just stick to the cooking, shall we…?

"No."

~Then it's settled!~ he said and grabbed a chef's hat from the cupboard behind him. He then approached the counter and clenched his hands together, looking at the cameras. Frisk approached him with her eyes tightly shut. He blinked multiple times and then spread his arms out again, ~We will be making a CAKE.

"As usual."

Mettaton blinked and puffed his cheeks out as he eyed her before enthusiastically looking at the cameras in front of them again.

~Yes, yes… As usual, darling. Now come, get the USUAL eggs and USUAL milk and USUAL sugar. I'm counting on you. As USUAL.

Frisk unwillingly turned around and headed for the fridge, only to be stopped by Mettaton.

~Are you serious? Milk? And eggs? In the fridge? Darling, don't be ridiculous.

She then saw the ingredients on the counter and brought them to the glamorous robot who was looking at every single move of hers with excitement. She suddenly remembered why she would watch the show when she was but a mere child and couldn't help but to think of the past a few years ago when she would watch it every now and then, sneaking butterscotch-cinnamon pie into her room and trying to prevent Toriel from coming in. If she did come in, she'd blame her for getting the TV set at the first place. She remembered how all that time went to _waste_.

~Bravo, darling! Let's hear another applause for our little, cute human! And let me see those ratings going up!~ he clapped and the world clapped with him, or at least the audio in the background.

~Now… we've got milk… sugar… eggs and… oh! We're missing something! The most important ingredient!

"You should smash the eggs first."

As Frisk said that he charmingly smiled.

~Hahaha… no thank you… Say, why don't you smash the eggs? After all, you are a superior being to us.

Frisk grabbed the egg and threw it right at his chest plate. He just looked at the stain and then back at the seemingly emotionless human.

~Seems… like you missed… But don't worry~ he raised his index finger upwards and puffed his chest out~ We don't need eggs with legs like these!~ he said and slammed his leg at the counter. Frisk forcefully opened her eyes and looked at the tall robot who was still smiling. She looked at the background to see a huge billboard displayed on the wall. The ratings went up.

~The final ingredient, darling, is you.

"What?" Frisk asked and looked at the somewhat vain robot that bit his lower lip while smiling. He suddenly pulled a chainsaw out from somewhere and started getting closer to the teen which was just looking at him with eyes widely opened. The chainsaw started getting closer, but Mettaton's smile suddenly disappeared.

~Darling… the show has no dramatic tension if you just keep standing around like this… Run for your life! AHAHAHAHHAHAHA!

Fast music started playing in the distance.

As he said that, Frisk jumped over the counter and started running towards the exit, but a laser appeared there, so she couldn't leave. She looked back at the robot to find him laughing menacingly while standing on the table, holding the big chainsaw above his head and raising it and lowering it like a maniac. What he didn't do for the nine wonderful viewers out there.

As he jumped off he came after her with the chainsaw and Frisk didn't have the time to run away, so she ran towards him. He widened his eyes as he saw that. When she came close enough, she slid right through his long legs and the robot was so confused he stopped moving.

Frisk ran up to the table and took more eggs, trying to hit him with them. Although she aimed perfectly at him, he managed to dodge it all by throwing the chainsaw into the air and doing a handstand after which he made a backflip, proudly smiling and closing his bishounen eyes as he stopped. The chainsaw landed somewhere far away, but he didn't seem to want to acknowledge that. As another egg came, he simply did a bridge. He then threw himself at the floor and posed again, sticking his tongue out.

~Flexible as spaghetti.

Frisk frowned. A silent _NYEH_ came from somewhere.

Mettaton soon stood up and put his hands at his hips, chuckling.

~That's all you have? Man, those monsters murdered… What were they doing?~ he started approaching her~ There's no way you did that by yourself, my darliiiiiiiiiin~ he shouted as he slipped on the egg and fell at his back.

~Ouch.

While he was lying, Frisk tried to get the knife off the table. But it seemed stuck.

~Searching for something, darling?~ Mettaton said as he reappeared right in front of the table. Frisk jumped off and found herself right across him. They stared at each other for a while before Mettaton decided it was time to attack her, so he tried to get at her side, but she got to his side as quickly as he got to hers. He silently growled while smiling, realigning his fringe. That repeated a few times before Mettaton decided to say something again.

~Oh, just give up! I definitely WON'T let you murder everyone in here!

They changed sides again.

~And even less will I let you murder the humans!

They changed sides.

~Stop moving, darling… I still have to attend a royal dinner today…

They changed sides yet again.

~Don't you know they all have something special? Something that shines within them? The thing you lost, darling? Not everyone loses that.

Frisk growled and grabbed the knife on the table. As Mettaton saw that, he threw himself at the table to grab it as well.

"Let go!"

~And let you kill everyone?

Frisk looked into Mettaton's eyes and his passion to stop her seemed to have disappeared for a moment.

"They killed my mother."

Mettaton's smile disappeared as he heard that, but knowing that Frisk was just using his emotionality, he rolled over the table and grabbed the little human who started flailing around in his arms.

~There's literally no need to kill everybody… You can make them their slaves, but killing?!

The human bit him and Mettaton released her, yelping, even though he actually didn't feel any pain.

As Frisk got to the table again, she managed to pull the knife off the table and immediately charged for the robot, so he frowned. As he dodged her attack, he proudly smiled, raised his chin up and pressed a button on the small machine he'd always keep by himself.

The whole stage suddenly trembled and huge walls appeared around the kitchen, thus trapping the human inside the room. The usual light faded away and blue light shone right in the center, illuminating the table which was the only thing that didn't disappear. Mettaton was, somehow, already seductively sitting on it, awaiting the human's attack. The instrumental changed yet again, making the human roll her eyes.

Frisk didn't have time to admire all the lights flashing at their movement; she just wanted him to shut down completely and forever at this point. She took her old stick out of her pocket and threw it towards him, but he caught it in his mouth and winked. Frisk stood there and was looking at him blankly for a moment.

~Lights. Camera. BOMBS!~ he shouted and spread his arm out as bombs came flying towards the human, hitting her so that she fell on the floor. She soon stood up and tried to stab him with her knife, but he didn't take considerable damage and just said: ~Yeah~

Mettaton then used his legs to take some of her HP and succeeded in that as Frisk couldn't dodge his attacks that quickly. She then jumped at him and used her knife again, pinning him down on the floor. The knife found itself right in front of the robot's face, and Mettaton gasped and put his hand at his forehead. The fringe which had been covering his right eye was now out of place and Frisk saw that he didn't even have the other side of his face built yet. Instead of another eye, he had a sparkle of crosshair.

~Oh no… seems like I've been bested…~ just as he said that, a couple of small, box-formed Mettatons came flying towards the kid and knocked her off him. He then stood up, realigned his hair and grabbed the child by her huge shirt, raising her up to align their eyes. He widely and charmingly smiled again.

~As any true fan would know… I was first created as a human eradication robot…~ he touched her little nose and she frowned and crossed her arms on her chest as her knife fell out of her hand~ Those original functions have never been removed… And since you insist on killing everybody, you little runt…

"Even if you turn into that eradication robot now… you won't be able to stop being a Non-Effective Obstacle.

Mettaton narrowed his eyes before he suddenly burst into laughter and released the kid as he had to bend forward to stop himself from laughing. As he was uncontrollably laughing and wondering how she knew about his NEO form at the same time, he said through his teeth: ~Why am I such a dork…?

Frisk grabbed her knife and took the small machine out of his hand, destroying it by throwing it into the wall, causing an earthquake as the walls tumbled down, destroying the whole place. Everything was in shambles; just the two of them and the table remained the same. Mettaton, bent forward as his long arms were hung, angrily looked at the human.

~COME HERE YOU LITTLE-

He started chasing her again around the place, the camera still picking everything up.

~LET ME COOK YOU ALREADY! Or destroy you. Your choice.

She suddenly stopped running and came running towards him again, hitting him with the knife.

He took her by the hand and threw her in the air, spinning her wildly. He then took the wooden stick off the table where he left it at and put it into his mouth, catching her in the air and dipping her. Frisk was looking at him as one of her legs was in the air. The ratings went up again. Seeing that, Mettaton slightly smiled and got closer to the human who got red as he got right in front of her face.

~Let's dance.

As he said that, he spun her again so that she hit the wall, after which he spread his arms out and released dozens of small Mettatons at her, every single one of them blowing a deadly kiss at the human who dodged them all. Mettaton smiled like he was proud at her as he crossed his arms on his chest. The human came running towards him and tried to punch his marvelous face, but he dodged it. She then tried to punch him again and again, so that it looked like it was all just choreography. He tried to kick her, but Frisk jumped aside, throwing a knife towards him. He just moved his head an inch as the knife got past him, cutting a single hair of his. He evilly grinned.

~So you've got no friends, huh?

The child puffed her cheeks out and raised her chin, which the audience took as a pose, so the ratings went up again. Mettaton widely smiled as he saw the chart on the billboard going up, and he couldn't deny the fact that he was having fun as the loud music was following every single move they made.

The robot made a split and stuck his tongue out again, a bunch of little metal parts coming from behind him. A few of them hit the human and the robot made them go reverse, yet this time she dodged them all.

" _Why can't I beat him? I beat UNDYNE!"_

~Huh. Impressive. But how are you on the dance floor?

Mettaton made a disco ball appear out of nowhere and deadly lights were trying to cut through her, but as her SOUL suddenly turned yellow, she managed to hit the ball multiple times, so she survived that attack. She didn't attack back as she saw that he was attacking himself at the same time as well, just to show off _his_ dance moves which were swift and precise.

He then widely smiled and spread his arms out, letting his SOUL out of the container, making the empty box look like an angry skull.

~Oh, darling. We've grown so distant… Why don't I show you my SOUL?

As he said that, thousands of electrical impulses flew towards her, making her flail around like a fish as she couldn't dodge all of the impulses.

~I figured the discharge might be too much for your frail little frame… BUT WHO CARES?!~ he crazily smiled as his SOUL's power and movements intensified. Frisk was blown back again and again. As she found herself on the floor, she could hear the voices in her head getting louder and louder, assuring she'd fail time after time.

" _ **WIN. WIN. WIN."**_

Mettaton sent dozens of bombs at her and she got blown back yet again.

" _ **KILL. KILL. KILL."**_

Mettaton raised his hand to send another dozen of little box forms of himself towards her while he was gasping loudly. He couldn't do it anymore as well, but he wasn't planning on stopping. This wasn't about him anymore, and that thought was driving him forward.

" _I… can't…"_ the robots hit her.

He got closer to her and kicked her so that she fell onto the floor. The robot approached her with hands on his hips. It wasn't in his interest to finish her off, so he stalled a little.

~And this isn't even my final form~ he stated and regretted he ever watched all those anime with Alphys.

" _ **You stupid… stop FEELING already."**_

"Feeling…" she said as she was gasping loudly and Mettaton tilted his head as he saw the human was in some kind of emotional pain. Still, he didn't have anything to do with that, so he leaned forward and made yet another small box appear in his hand.

~Hey, darling… What time is better to open a present… than the present? One blow of mine and that little box I'm holding ends your life.

" _ **STOP THINKING ABOUT HER. SHE IS**_ **D** _ **E**_ **A** _ **D."**_ the voice in her head said and she suddenly clenched her hands tightly as she looked furiously at him. He blinked twice and shrugged his shoulders as he got prepared to finish her off.

~Don't worry. This isn't a bomb… just your demise~, as he said that, he wanted to put an end to all that killing that little, innocent-looking child was doing, but a voice came from somewhere, so he stopped.

 _WAIT!_

They both heard a bang back at the counter and looked back, only to see a monster stroking his head as he banged it against the table.

 _WOWIE… THAT HURT…_

The tall skeleton stood up and made his way towards the celebrity who was looking at him weirdly. The glamorous robot blinked a few times as the skeleton was marching up to him, proudly. He wanted to shout "security", but then he remembered he had none.

~ _What is this…? A Deus ex machina? Or something?_

As the skeleton came up to him, he stood right in between of him and his young friend. He looked cool for a few seconds before completely going crazy as he was standing right next to his favorite celebrity and couldn't keep his smile a secret anymore.

 _METTATON! I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!_

Mettaton blinked and narrowed his eye as he looked at the skeleton from the bottom to the top. Dressed in a pink shirt which said 'SPAGHETTI WARRIOR' wasn't really something Mettaton expected from his fans, and neither did he expect his fans would wear capes. He seemed speechless and Frisk realized the skeleton came here to save her. She wasn't thankful, though. In fact, she hated the fact that he saved her even though she tried to turn him to dust before.

 _I WATCH YOUR SHOWS EVERY DAY AND I MUST SAY YOU ARE VERY GREAT! IN FACT, ALMOST AS GREAT AS I AM! CAN I GET AN AUTOGRAPH? ON MY SKULL? ACROSS IT?_

Mettaton's arms dropped, and so did his attack.

~How did you get in here…?

 _OH?! ME? I HAVE NO IDEA*,_ he said and his face lit up even more as he clenched his hands together.

 _BUT! YOU'RE MY FAVORITE SEXY RECTANGLE! I WISH I LIVED IN HOTLAND…_

Mettaton was silent for a moment.

~Let me try this again…~ he put a hand at his forehead and sighed, eyeing him~… Why. Why are you in here…?

 _I JUST WANTED TO BE A PART OF THE GREAT SHOW! WHICH IS ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME AS WELL! BUT I AM THE GREATEST._

Mettaton shook his head, but couldn't hide a soft smile.

~Excuse me…? Um… you do know that I am the greatest, right?

Papyrus looked left, then right, then back at him.

 _NO._

Mettaton frowned.

~What.

 _NO. NO ONE TOLD ME THAT THERE IS SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME OUT THERE._

~Well. I am~, Mettaton proudly said and put a hand at his chest plate, posing.

 _WOWIE! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!*_ Papyrus shouted as he slightly blushed. His knees became weak too.

~Of course I am, darling. I AM THE IDOL EVERYONE CRAVES!

 _YES! YES YOU ARE!_

~Oh, stop the flattering; you'll make the human… Where's the human~, Mettaton sighed as he realized the kid was already gone. He then angrily looked at the skeleton whose jaw got lost in his red cape. He started playing with his hands.

~You… made the human go away. You made a serial killer go away!

 _SERIAL KILLER?!*_ Papyrus angrily exclaimed and looked into Mettaton's eyes, making the robot flinch. He pointed at his chest and Mettaton's eye narrowed, * _NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TALK TO MY FRIEND THAT WAY!_

~No one has the right to talk to me that way!~ he responded and smacked Papyrus' finger.

 _MY BROTHER TOLD ME THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS THE RIGHT TO TALK TO PEOPLE THAT WAY WHEN HE ABSOLUTELY HAS TO!_

~And who is-

 _ **I**_ _AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!*_ he said and posed. Mettaton's visible eye narrowed again and his smile finally disappeared.

~No one ca-~ he stopped as his pupil got wider seeing all the ratings appearing on the billboard. The ratings were getting off the chart and he looked at the skeleton which was posing again. He blinked multiple times and pushed him closer to the table.

 _WOWIE… OUR RELATIONSHIP IS GROWING SO FAST!*_ Papyrus squealed as Mettaton was pushing him towards the table.

~Yes, yes… Do tell… you know how to cook, darling?~ he asked as he managed to get him to the table, putting the ingredients into his hands. As he was doing that, he was biting his lower lip as he saw the ratings going up even higher.

 _WHAT IS THIS FOR A QUESTION FROM THE BISHOUNEN-EYED CELEBRITY ROBOT WHOM I ABSOLUTELY AND UTTERLY ADORE? OF COURSE THE GREAT PAPYRUS KNOWS HOW TO COOK! OTHERWISE HE WOULD NOT BE AS GREAT!_

~Does the great Papyrus have to talk in third person?

 _NO*,_ the skeleton said and Mettaton just blinked. Papyrus then looked into the camera.

 _TODAY, WE'LL BE MAKING SPAGHETTI._

~But we're making cake, and we don't have the-

 _WE'LL BE MAKING SPAGHETTI._

~We won't be making-

 _WE SHALL MAKE THE BEST SPAGHETTI EVER MADE!*_ Papyrus yelled and raised his hands up, clapping sounds coming from the distance as Mettaton was just looking at him, confused what was going on.

 _AND MY WONDERFUL ASSISTANT WILL BE HELPING ME._

Mettaton blinked a few times before posing dramatically. The ratings were soaring higher every second.


	18. Chapter 18

" _ **DETERMINATION"**_ , the voice in her head said as she watched the last roaming monster turn into dust. As the body of the Monster was turning gray, she was watching it with a wide grin on her face. Soon, it fell apart, its dust spreading into the air around her. Frisk didn't feel anything and just approached a nearby rock, engraving yet another line into it. Something is her head was shouting to stop, but the other thing in her head was suffocating that voice.

"Determination…" she silently said with a lifeless expression on her face as she continued her path through the parlor, destroying some unfortunate spider webs as they were _in her way._

" _ **Now all you have to do is reach the king… Destroy his will… Shatter his SOUL and ultimately destroy him. With his SOUL, you'll be able to get out. So move along… Get there as fast as you can and don't stop hurrying."**_

"Don't stop… No matter what…"

" _ **And DON'T let your guard down this time… or you won't be so lucky to get away like you did last time… He thinks he's your friend. HE IS NOT. A human? Friends with such a pitiful lowlife? No. This couldn't happen. He is the enemy. He is to be destroyed."**_

Frisk's eyes went half-closed as she looked down. Something was still trying to pull her out of the situation she was in, but she couldn't reach for it.

"Destroy."

" _ **And then we will destroy this miserable world together. And will live in darkness… together, won't we, FRISK?"**_

"…Destroy…"

With that, the creepy, unpleasant voice disappeared out of her head and she rushed outside. Right next to the exit, there was a big poster displaying Mettaton's old body and a cheering crowd behind him. The human took her knife out and crossed all of the faces that were already killed, leaving behind only a handful of faces, including the crying ghost and the skeleton brothers. Frisk then slashed the poster with all her might to make it fall down on the floor, just so she could step on it. She then proceeded and soon entered a blue hued room. There was a huge blue castle and a vine climbing down the wall right next to Frisk. A few feet away was also a staircase and Frisk stopped walking as she could already feel that something was very wrong with the place.

~OH? COULD IT BE?~ light fell right at the window which was far away from the kid, so she had to squint her eyes to see the same robot that tried to murder her with a chainsaw before charmingly smiling at her again. Instead of his usual outfit, he was wearing a light blue, long and glittery dress which looked like he was wearing it for the first time, for this special occasion. Frisk wondered where it could have gone wrong with his programming. He was sitting on the windowsill, posing dramatically as his leg slammed at the windowsill as well as soon as he realized the kid was looking at him. He then clenched his hands together, leaned forward and pressed his hands against his chest.

~My one true love…?~ he silently said and Frisk shook her head in disproval, to which he didn't reply. He dramatically posed again by putting his hand at his forehead and leaning onto the wall, getting a rose from somewhere.

~Darling… I've been waiting eons for you… But we can't possibly be together, ever.

Frisk stared at him as he was acting like some kind of princess, making too many elegant hand gestures. As he was making those gestures, he accidentally dropped the rose, but pretended that nothing had happened.

~For you see… The King of all Monsters… King Asgore… won't allow that. Humans have to be banished. Exiled… Battled. Driven mad. Imprisoned. Sent through horrible puzzles.. Destroyed. Eliminated. Stomped into ground… I… I think you got the idea.

Frisk wanted to say something, but got interrupted by the flamboyant robot that put his index finger over his mouth.

~Hush, little darling… Don't make this even more difficult for me… For us.

Frisk tried to walk away, but stopped as a whole table fell right in front of her. She stared at it for a moment before she looked upwards, seeing the robot act like nothing ever happened. He blinked multiple times as he leaned against the wall again, gracefully.

~You… don't plan on leaving, right? DARLING?~ he scoffed before slightly smiling again, a dreamy expression on his face, ~We don't want to disappoint the one hundred and nineteen wonderful viewers out there, do we?

Frisk frowned again.

~Listen,~ he whispered to her, at least he thought he whispered it, ~darling, this has no point if you won't give it your all. Should you act morbid like that, there won't be any views. And no views means no popularity. And no popularity means no profit. No profit no business and no business… well, your sudden and totally unexpected and unpredictable demise.

She didn't respond, but just watched him swing his leg.

" _ **What are**_ **y** _ **ou doing? Leave this trashcan and**_ **c** _ **ontinue forth! W**_ **E** _ **DO**_ **N** _ **'T HAVE TI**_ **M** _ **E F**_ **OR** _ **THIS."**_

But she didn't listen to the voice in her head.

~OH MY LOVE, PLEASE RUN AWAY… MONSTER KING… FORBIDS YOUR STAY~ he started singing loudly and proudly, with his eye tightly shut.

~HUMANS MUST… LIVE FAR APART… EVEN THOUGH… IT BREAKS MY HEART~ he suddenly opened his eye and slightly punched the wall to make a button appear in a secret layer of the wall. He then pressed it as a wide grin appeared on his face. The floor trembled and Frisk looked down to see the bluish gray color fade away as a colorful tile maze appeared. The colors soon started flashing and as they stopped, the kid realized she was standing on a green tile.

~I call this one… _Undertile,_ ~ Mettaton grinned, put one hand on his chest and raised the other to continue singing.

~IF ONLY YOU… DIDN'T MAKE ME WAIT! YOU WOULD NOW… LEASTWISE KNOW THE RULES! NOW YOU WILL… PAY MY DEAR! EVEN IF… IT'LL BE MY LAST!

As he started singing, a firewall appeared from the back and Frisk started running away, but as she stepped on a red tile, she couldn't move forward. She then proceeded to take another path, only to start smelling like lemons before falling into water. As she saw the hungry piranhas stare at her in agony that they couldn't eat her, she got scared and climbed out, stepping on a few pink tiles before stepping on a green one again. She then made her way to a yellow tile, only to be slightly electrocuted.

~WELL THAT WAS… A SORRY TRY…

She managed to get past the point she stopped at by taking a path through the water. As she stepped outside she stepped on an orange tile, and realizing nothing was happening, she continued going, just to slip on a purple tile and fall straight into the water again, making the piranhas leap out of the water, so she got scared and jumped back out, only to be awaited by the purple tile again which sent her back to the orange tile. She tried to enter the water again, but piranhas were just waiting for her to get in. She decided to go back and slipped on the purple tile, falling into water yet again. She jumped out and got to the purple tile again, just to stop on the orange tile. Mettaton even stopped singing just to look at her aimlessly running back and forward. He didn't seem very amused, but rather disappointed as she was stuck in there so easily. The human then tried to jump over the water, but failed and fell straight into it, making her jump out again.

~…NOW LET'S… Let's… let's just stop that, okay?~ He asked and the cheerful music in the background vanished. The fire disappeared. The colors of the tiles went back to gray again and Frisk fell face first as she planned on swimming through the little pool. Mettaton covered his eyes for a second before charmingly smiling again, leaning at the wall.

~You… aren't really good at puzzles… are you?

Frisk stood up and looked at him. He was still sitting on the windowsill, looking down at her as his feet were crossed.

"I HATE puzzles!" Frisk exclaimed as she got the knife she received before out of her pockets. Mettaton stared blankly for a second before continuing.

~…Well. Darling. I absolutely LOATHE when someone just tries to murder everyone I know as well, yet do you hear me complaining? I'm not doing this just for-

Frisk just blinked and Mettaton smiled widely again, looking at the cameras.

~NEVER MIND THAT, LITTLE DARLING-SUGAR PLUM FAIRY-SWEETHEART-CUTIE-PIE-CUDDLES-DONUT- SUNSHINE-FLOWER-CUPCAKE-PUMPKIN-SPRINKLES!~ he freaked out as he realized that he almost started talking about his feelings.

~ _Objective… never subjective. The mind of the true artist~_ he thought before narrowing his eyes at the girl who just stood there, widely grinning as she knew he knew all about her wrongdoings she loved to do.

~The fire, darling! The fire didn't catch up to you! Is this a miracle? Is this what they call the power of… TRUE LOVE?~ he put both of his hands at his cheeks and adorably smiled at the camera~ Darling… I never knew I would say this, but… you really are my one. True love. At first, I was confused. The way you looked at me for the first time, melting my big, robotic heart… The way you battled me before… with passion in your eyes… The way you blushed as I came closer to your face…

"I didn't blush…" she whispered and crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out. She then blushed.

The robot leaned back and stretched a leg.

"The way I started caring about you the moment you arrived at my scene… when you showed emotions during the battle we tried to fight till death… despite everything what you've done… Darling. Despite everything, it's still you, whatever your name is, human.

Frisk's angry expression faded from her face as she was looking at the robot which seemed close to tears of joy. He then reopened his shiny eye and looked down at her, shrugging his shoulders.

~Oh, darling. We are so different, yet still the same… OH. WAIT,~ his expression turned serious all of a sudden, ~We're not. I'm no serial killer.

Frisk was just staring at him as he slightly smiled, looked away from her and shrugged his broad shoulders.

~Welp. Then I'll just have to destroy you all by myself, it seems~, he said, threw his left glove away and grabbed something from behind as he jumped down from the tall building, landing on his heels. Although it was pretty impressive, in Frisk's opinion, this kind of behavior didn't really befit his role. He stood up dramatically, facing the ground as his fringe covered the right side of his face, while his other eye was closed shut. There was a long rapier in his right hand. Frisk clenched the knife in her hand. He soon raised his head to look her in the eye, widely grinning. He then straightened completely and pointed his sword at her, his grin getting wider as his eye was widely opened.

~DARLING! I challenge thee to a duel to the death! Two beautiful warriors, two wonderful points of view _in which one is the ugliest point of view ever_ and GLAMOUR! Darling!

Frisk just annoyingly blinked as she got a step closer. He pretended not to care. He still waited for some time, wondering if she normally spoke more or not. As nothing came from her, he decided to continue.

~So be it! I, the princess of Hotland, challenge you… TO A BATTLE OF FATES! Burgerpants! Music!~ he shouted up at the tower where Burgerpants had to hide his miserable presence.

Nothing came.

~Burgerpants!

Nothing came.

~BURGERPANTS DARLING! Turn on the music. Or do you want me to do _that_ again?

The music kicked in.

 _Frisk's SOUL started bouncing heavily as excitement came pouring into her._

 _WAIT! HUMAN!*_ she heard a familiar voice and both of them stopped to look at their left, seeing a familiar person. Frisk annoyingly sighed and Mettaton bit his lower lip in anger.

~You again?! How did you get in here?!

 _LIKE I'D TELL YOU, MONSTER! HUMAN! *_ he looked at Frisk who was still ready to face her challenge* _I CAME TO WARN YOU! FOR THIS PRINCESS… ISN'T ACTUALLY A PRINCESS! BUT NOTHING BUT A BAD IMPRESSION OF ONE!_

Mettaton stared at the skeleton which was seemingly sweating.

 _HE IS A GUY, FIRST OF ALL! AND GUYS CAN'T BE PRINCESSES! *_ he turned away from Mettaton, silently saying: _BELIEVE ME, I'VE TRIED…_

Something hit him in the skull as he wasn't watching. He looked at the ground to see a rock. As he looked back at the human he was trying to protect, he saw Mettaton smiling for a second before the glamorous robot looked away and crossed his arms.

 _H-HEY! WHY WOULD YOU TRY TO LAPIDATE ME?!_

~Me, darling? Never…~ Mettaton said and silently snickered at the skeleton thumping his leg at the floor. The young skeleton soon stopped and wiped sweat off his face, trying to hide that he was terribly nervous.

Frisk looked at the robot, then at the skeleton, then shrugged.

 _DON'T PLAY INNOCENT NOW! I AM WELL AWARE OF YOUR TRY TO TAKE THE HUMAN AWAY FROM ME… AND KEEP HER ALL FOR YOURSELF!_

Mettaton facepalmed.

 _I, THE_ _ **GREAT**_ _PAPYRUS, SHAN'T ALLOW SUCH INSOLENCE TO MY GREATNESS! FOR YOU SEE, I AM VERY GREAT. I NEED THE HUMAN TO SAY THAT. AND FOR HER TO BE MY. FRIEND. AND! ME AND MY BROTHER NEED HER MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK!_

Mettaton was still in the same position, smiling at how weird the skeleton was acting.

 _HUMAN! COME, LET'S RUN AWAY TOGETHER!*_ Papyrus said and the human and the robot looked at each other. Frisk shrugged and Mettaton puffed his cheeks out.

~Oh… BREAKING AWAY TOGETHER? Is this… a romantic plot twist…? Are YOU her true love?~ the flamboyant robot asked as Papyrus blushed at his question.

 _Wh-WHAT?! I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THA-A-A-A-A-*_ he stopped as Mettaton suddenly appeared right before him, grabbing him by the scarf.

~Does this mean… WE have to fight?~ Mettaton was getting too deep into the situation as Papyrus was just sweating up a storm.

 _A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-_

~I accept your challenge, sugar skull! May the best swordsman win!~ he leaped a few feet away and pointed his sword at him now. Papyrus was still shaking in his boots.

 _H-HUMAN! D-DON'T FRET! I SHALL WIN THIS CHA-CHARADE! FOR YOU!*_ he then got closer to her and whispered* _I'M BUYING YOU TIME TO ESCAPE, FRISK. THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, RIGHT? I WAS FOLLOWING YOU FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND… AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE STILL ALRIGHT… AND SAFE*,_ he cutely smiled.

"I don't need your stupid help you-

~No, no, no, no… _I_ will win this duel. Just for fun. UHH, and for your demise as well, I guess!

 _Papyrus made a long bone appear out of thin air and grabbed it with both of his hands, looking tense as he was facing the tall robot charmingly smiling at him. Everyone else but Papyrus was well aware that Mettaton would smile like that at everyone, not just at him._

 _METTATON! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL DEFEAT YOU IN THIS VERY INSTANT! THEN YOU WILL BE… UM… DEFEATED?_

 _~Can't think of an insult, darling? Well, isn't that cute._

 _C-CUTE?!_

 _Papyrus blushed and turned to the human again: *HUMAN… NOW IS THE TIME WHEN YOU… YOU KNOW… GET OUT OF HERE?_

 _Mettaton got to him and tried to strike the human down, but Papyrus protected her by countering his attack with the bone he was holding. Mettaton looked quite surprised, but grinned widely again. Frisk was pretty sure he was either insane or a total weirdo by now, despite what the media was telling them all._

 _HUMAN… I'M PRETTY SURE…_

 _Mettaton tried to strike him now, but the skeleton made a squat to dodge his attack._

 _YOUR TIME TO LEAVE IS…_

 _Bone and sword met._

 _NOW._

 _Frisk kicked his foot and Papyrus frowned at the kid._

 _I SAID RIGHT NOW!_

 _He then picked her up by the head and threw her over the electric fence. As the kid flew right over it, Mettaton just stared before he started to shout._

 _~SAY! What is WRONG with your head? Don't YOU HAVE a BRAIN?!~ the mad robot said as he was trying to cut off the skeleton's head. Papyrus was just dodging his attacks, with surprising ease._

 _NO._

 _The skeleton said and Mettaton hesitated to strike him for a moment before deciding to attack again. Papyrus was just dodging. As the battle continued, Mettaton was slowly getting tired, but didn't want to stop. He had to get rid of the kid, just for Alphys' sake._

 _Gasping, he managed to ask: ~Why are you protecting her so dearly? Don't you know what she's done?_

 _Papyrus pretended not to hear, so Mettaton frowned and spun around him to take the lead. Papyrus froze for a second._

 _~I… Just want to know! It's not that everyone will know if you tell now…~ he said and pushed a camera off the stage to hide it. Papyrus squinted his empty eyes as he tried to strike the robot as well._

 _WHAT? I… CAN'T REALLY HEAR YOU… I HAVE NO EARS._

 _Mettaton bitterly smirked and spun his weapon, accidentally knocking Papyrus' weapon out the skeleton's hand. He then smiled like he did that on purpose and pointed the sword at him again, so Papyrus raised his arms into the air and started sweating again. He then smiled dumbly as Mettaton seemed to be waiting for an answer._

EH… UM… OH! LOOK AT THE TIME!* the skeleton said as he pointed at a non-existent clock behind the Underground's star. He just glared at him.

*MY SPAGHETTI IS WAITING FOR ME TO…

The skeleton kicked the robot's sword out of his hand and leaped at up to catch it, aiming it at Mettaton's chest. The robot blinked before narrowing his eye.

 _~Oh shoot._

 _NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! METTATON! PREPARE TO BE BESTED BY THE UNIMAGINABLY GREAT PAPYRUS WHO WOULD LOVE TO SPEND EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF… UMM! PREPARE TO BE BESTED!_

 _Mettaton took a few steps back as Papyrus was looking at the sword, not really knowing if he should really continue on. As soon as he remembered Frisk though, he knew he had to continue._

 _Y-YES! IT IS TIME YOU PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES… WHICH YOU HAVEN'T COMMITED…* he looked down for a second before proudly straightening again, *BUT STILL._

When he finally reopened his eyes, Mettaton was already climbing up the stairs. Papyrus immediately ran towards him, trying to stop him from getting to the human.

Mettaton quickly entered the castle and slammed the door shut, leaning on them and gasping heavily.

~What is up with this skeleton…? Ugh… fans…~ he said and sweetly smiled before a knock came from the other side. Mettaton froze up as the knock started getting louder and more and more annoying.

 _I'M BREAKING IN._

~Don't you dare.

 _I WILL NOT LET YOU CAPTURE MY HUMAN! FOR IT IS MINE AND MINE ALONE!_

~No, no it's not!

 _YES IT IS!* the skeleton yelled and actually broke down the door and ran into the glamorous robot's direction, only to trip and fall right on top of him. Mettaton, the affected actor that he was, went on to struggle to get the skeleton off, but it seemed that his scarf tangled them together. As nothing worked and as Papyrus seemed to be knocked out, he started rolling with him across the castle._

 _~GET OFF OF ME! YOU STUPID BONEHEAD!~ Mettaton puffed his cheeks out~ AND STOP DROOLING ALL OVER ME!_

 _Papyrus seemed unable to battle._

 _Mettaton soon realized Burgerpants was watching them in the background, smoking like usual. He didn't seem to be interested in helping his boss at all._

 _~BURGERPANTS! Beauty! Perfection! Sugar! Lemon! Love of my life, HELP ME ALREADY!_

 _Burgerpants seemed done with life and just watched them roll on the ground, picking dust up. Soon, Papyrus regained consciousness and struggled to get off as well, but slammed his forehead into Mettaton's and passed out again, not from pain, but from what seemed like infatuation._

 _~Burgerpants, I swear!_

 _*Sorry, chief. I think it's time for my break…_

 _~But you DON'T HAVE ANY BREAKS!~ Mettaton angrily responded as the skeleton's scarf was slowly suffocating him._

 _Burgerpants lifelessly blinked and threw the cigarette down at the floor, squishing it. Mettaton looked down at it and then back up to smile charmingly at his employee._

 _~I'll allow you to-_

 _*THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT'S TIME FOR ME TO LEAVE THIS HELL! I mean… EH. Screw it*, saying that, he crazily smiled and just walked out like nothing ever happened. Mettaton just watched him leave before posing dramatically._

 _~But… But I loved you! And I lived under the assumption that you love me too! Don't leave me! BURGERPANTS!_

 _Burgerpants didn't return._

 _NYEEHHH!* Papyrus suddenly exclaimed and threw the tall robot over his shoulders, smashing him into a wall. Mettaton grabbed him as well, smashing him right next to himself._

 _~Why would you protect a serial killer?! What is so special about her that you want to keep her alive?!~ the robot yelled at the skeleton and Papyrus frowned as he slammed Mettaton against the wall._

 _SHE'S MY FRIEND!_

 _Mettaton pinned the skeleton against the wall._

 _~Friend? She's a human! Monsters and humans can't be friends! That's what the law says, numbskull!_

 _Papyrus continued the cycle._

 _I KNOW WHAT THE LAW SAYS! I'M A ROYAL GUARD!_

 _~A Royal Guard…?_

 _IN TRAINING* Papyrus whispered as he looked away, so Mettaton hit him to the wall again._

 _~Are you aware of the fact that your friends is… I don't know… MURDERING PEOPLE?!_

 _I AM AND I HATE IT!* he said and tried to get his scarf back as it ended up around Mettaton's neck, but the robot didn't seem so generous to give it back. At least not at that time._

 _~You know what I hate? When people ruin my reputation!~ the robot pushed him away and Papyrus stopped every movement before lowering his head, shyly searching for his bright eye._

 _Papyrus blinked a few times as his hands were in the air. His eyebrows lowered._

 _DID I… DO YOU…_

 _Mettaton frowned at the skeleton and Papyrus suddenly burst into tears._

Mettaton widened his eyes. As much as he disliked the skeleton at the moment, he couldn't help but to feel sorry for the crying monster.

~Did I… um… say something that wrong?

Papyrus shook his head to negate his statement.

 _I… NO. IT'S ABOUT… OKAY… I KNOW FRISK WASN'T NICE TO ALL THE MONSTERS… I KNOW THEY AREN'T ON VACATION…_

Mettaton had no idea what the skeleton was talking about, but ever since Alphys opened up to him, he had to try to understand everyone's problems. After all, he was still a monster with a soul. He sat right next to him.

 _I… I KEPT LYING TO MY BROTHER THAT I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON… HE WOULD… WOULD ALWAYS TELL ME THAT EVERYTHING IN OUR WORLD WAS FINE AND THAT THEY ALL JUST DECIDED TO GO AWAY FROM US FOR SOME RANDOM REASON… BUT IT WAS NEVER LIKE THAT. I'M NOT A KID ANYMORE…_

Papyrus sobbed.

 _IT WASN'T JUST THE CUTE LITTLE MONSTERS OUT OF TOWN… SHE KILLED SPIDERS, TOO. SHE ROBBED THE SHOPS OF THEIR MONEY AND BELONGINGS. SHE DIDN'T EVEN LIKE MY SPAGHETTI…_

Mettaton slightly smiled, but just for a second.

 _THE… THE LITTLE YELLOW MONSTER KID TOO… UNDYNE TOLD ME THE DUMMY IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE HADN'T BEEN THERE FOR DAYS… THE WHOLE ROYAL GUARD, ACTUALLY! I'M… I'M THE ONLY ONE. SINCE UNDYNE PASSED AWAY TOO, RECENTLY…_

Mettaton decided to remain silent, although he knew quite a few people he talked about.

 _SANS TOLD ME SHE HAD TO GO SOMEWHERE… BUT I KNOW THIS ISN'T TRUE. HE CAN'T KNOW IT, BUT... I AM AWARE OF EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING. IF HE'D KNOW, HE WOULDN'T EVEN SMILE ANYMORE… AND I… J-JUST WANT TO SEE M-MY BROTH-BROTHER… SMILE ALL THE TIME… IF HE LOSES THE SMILE HE HAS FOR ME… HE LOSES EVERYTHING… I J-JUST WANT TO KEEP THE SMILE HE HAS ON HIS FACE FOREVER, JUST LIKE HE WANTS TO KEEP M-ME FROM ANY TROU-TROUBLE… JUST LIKE HE WANTS TO KEEP THE TRUTH HIDDEN FROM MY EYES JUST BECAU- BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS PRETTY AS IT SHOULD BE… ME AND MY BROTHER…_

Mettaton looked at the scarf around his neck and took it off. On the inside, there was an inscription written in a somewhat messy font.

 _ ***for my best bro. from your best bro. also, your only bro.**_

Papyrus replied to that with a simple smiley face drawn pretty badly. Mettaton sweetly smiled.

 _WE… WE ARE BEST FRIENDS… FOREVER. AND… AND EVER… AND EVER… AND… EV…ER…*_ the skeleton started crying again as Mettaton just smiled.

 _THAT HUMAN… SHE MAY NOT BE PERFECT… B-BUT I KNOW THERE'S STILL GOOD IN HER! I CAN FEEL IT, FOR…*_ he looked into Mettaton's eye and widely smiled, * _THERE IS GOOD IN EVERY PERSON, RIGHT?_

The robot didn't respond, it was like he turned numb all of a sudden, which was weird for his usual stuck-up behavior.

 _RIGHT?*_ the skeleton's smile started fading and Mettaton quickly wrapped the scarf around the skeleton's bony neck and just smiled at him, slightly nodding.

 _SORRY FOR… FOR BREAKING IN LIKE THAT… I DIDN'T WANT TO RUIN YOUR SHOW… I JUST WANTED TO PROTECT THE ONLY REMAINING FRIEND EXCEPT MY BROTHER I STILL HAVE… AND I-_

~Nah. It's fine, darling. My reputation isn't really that great anyways… and I can always get them to love me again~ he winked~ And… I really feel your pain…~ he wanted to tell him about Alphys, but decided to remain silent, ~Just get yourself a reservation the next time, okay?

As Mettaton sweetly smiled at him, Papyrus' mood got slightly better. Mettaton stood up and petted the skeleton's skull, to which the skeleton responded with a small smile and a slight blush, followed by a silent: _NYEH._

~Now go, my knight in shining armor, and save your _real_ damsel in distress… She really needs a friend too, I guess~ he said and got to the stairs again, but looked back at Papyrus just to see the slight, thankful smile on his face.

~And knock 'em dead, darling.


	19. Chapter 19

*We're going live in five minutes*, a monster said as he knocked on a pink-colored door on which a golden tablet labeled _'HUMANITIY'S FUTURE STAR METTATON'_ was _._ There was no response, so the monster knocked again.

*Mettaton? You hear me? You gotta be on set _right now._ Hurry up!*

There was no response, so the angry worker monster opened the door and slammed it against the wall, knocking down a picture of the robot posing dramatically in his box form. The picture was signed and said: _'From my most beautiful beauty, from the most beautiful beauty'._

He angrily looked around the tiny room, seeing that no one was there. The mirror leaning against the wall and standing on the pink desk was full of small stickers he'd find, as usual. The yellow carpet beneath the table was as fluffy as usual and clean. The seat was, however, knocked down. All of his figurines, pens and letters were scattered across the table and the ground, like he was searching for something he couldn't find. The trash can was knocked over as well. He'd usually only sit on the seat and look at his face for hours, but it seemed like he didn't have the time to do that that day.

The monster widened his eyes and called: *WHERE is HE?!*

But there was no one to respond. Everyone was already gone; turned into dust.

…

The twenty-four year old cat-like monster was smoking at his workplace again. He was looking at the clock, waiting for his boss to finally arrive and start yelling at him. He had already seen the human and had to empty out the shop, so it would be no good when Mettaton would arrive.

But as Burgerpants waited for the robot to come, he realized he wasn't coming that day. So he took a break for the time being.

…

 _ ***…oh… the show is about to start…***_ he said and floated towards the old, broken television set in his room. He then realized he had no snacks, so he went back to get some. After slowly and sadly opening the fridge, he took out a ghost sandwich and floated back to the TV. He slowly took a bite out of the sandwich while trying to find the remote. Remembering he had no remote, he heavily sighed and lamentably floated towards the television set, putting the invisible sandwich down. He then turned it on and got back to drag a pillow in front of it. But as he was dragging the pillow, he saw that something was very wrong with the channel. It had way too much landscape and way too less Mettaton in it. Although he just turned the program on, he was close to tears already. He missed his cousin way too much. The ghost then proceeded to cry bitter tears as there was the announcement: ' _LOCAL ROBOT WENT MISSING'._

The ghost wasn't the only one to miss him, though. There were Catty and Bratty, contemplating life's meaning without the robot that made their day brighter. There was Monster Kid, wondering if anyone else would ever say that arms are unnecessary when you have legs. And those weren't the only ones. The whole Underground was searching for him for days. But he was nowhere to be found.

…

He clenched the red scarf he had around his neck, still remembering what he saw days ago. The tall, wan monster was slowly walking step by step, his legs feeling like he was walking on the sharp blades the human put him through the other day. He remembered when he thought of it as a game and when he had actually faith in her, but he quickly shook that thought off as he had to stop thinking about the thing that happened because of him. He knew he was responsible for the things the human had done to the monsters at that point. But it didn't seem like he knew how to handle it well. He rather decided to leave everyone and everything behind, leaving it all to the destiny of the universe. He wanted to escape the thoughts and feelings he had, but he couldn't. Not at this point. Not only was he sad about the thing that happened, but he was also sad because he knew he just left everyone behind: humans, monsters. No one had a chance anymore.

He remembered the time when he wanted to be brave, and if having to turn to dust, he'd do that with a colossal, bright explosion of hope for someone else to stop her. But now, he couldn't even buy time for his friend to save the others. He broke a promise. He broke a Soul, too. His own.

His gaze was stuck on the red ground beneath him. His eyes weren't bishounen anymore. His body was full of scratches. His voice not even there anymore. The make-up on his face was ruined. His look was distant as his eye lost all the brightness it had. His pupil was small and looked afraid, shocked, terrified.

 _~I… l-live for my fans… They live for me… That's it, right?~_ he asked himself at one point, crossing a small bridge across the lava. Every single one of his steps was causing the bridge to tremble, so he was crossing it for minutes. He was constantly smiling at the red and orange colored mass as it was slowly wiggling around the small gap, not thinking about anything except the pain every step of his caused. He just wanted to throw his legs away at that point and return to his former, poor self. No friends, no money, no glory, no fame, no nothing except snails and the ghost cousin he had.

But there was no point in turning back now. He was already everything he had ever wanted to be. Then he realized this was the first time he had actually taken a break from the job he had. That thought made him sad, actually, as he dedicated his life to his job and enjoyed every moment of it. But where was the thrill and joy of his work now when he needed it the most? He threw it all away, just because of the one who turned to dust in front of his negligent, apathetic, uninterested eyes.

The sad figure displayed a slight smile on his face again, spreading his arms to balance himself across the bridge. As he slowly and listlessly crossed it, he half-opened his mouth to release a silent muffled sigh full of grief.

 _~It wasn't my fault… He wanted to meet her so bad, right?~_ he asked as he looked back at the boiling lava heating his metallic body up. He knew, however, that it was himself, in fact, that made his spirit rise up so quickly. And when it was happening, he just stood there in shock, doing absolutely nothing, while he could save an innocent person's life.

 _~That, however, would be at the cost of my own Soul… and without that, the Underground would lose its spark!~_ he though while trying to forget how the monster looked like he did nothing bad his entire life. He remembered listening to his silent, heartwarming speech full of enthusiasm and unbreakable hope. And the superstar couldn't help but to root for him. That didn't bring any good.

Grief got to him again, making him look away from the lava calling him bad words. He never thought he'd be responsible for the death of such an innocent creature.

Upon seeing the exit that led to Waterfall, he cleared his mind for a moment as he remembered he could visit his cousin whom he held dear. He widely smiled and rushed through the gate, leaving the lava judging him behind. He quickly passed all the bridges and pathways, but as he came closer to the house of the little Napstablook, he suddenly slowed down, ignoring the burning will to see his relative again. Something stopped him and he stood there like sunken into the muddy ground.

 _*Flashback*_

 _HUMAN! I WANTED TO THANK YOU… FOR BEING MY FRIEND._

 _The little girl didn't look really happy to hear him say that. In fact, she looked uninterested._

 _DID YOU SEE THAT, FRISK? I ACTUALLY GOT TO PREFORM WITH THE BIGGEST STAR IN THE UNDERGROUND! AND. HE. WAS WEARING A DRESS. HE'S WAY BETTER AT DATING THAN I AM!_

 _Frisk was just looking at him, blocking his path._

 _UM… YOU ARE PROBABLY WONDERING WHY I'M HERE. UH… FOR YOU SEE. I WAS… FOLLOWING YOU. FOR QUITE SOME TIME._

 _Frisk's face remained unchanged. The girl's eyes were closed as she was facing the tall skeleton._

 _NOT IN THE CREEPY WAY!_

 _There was no response from the girl except that she grabbed the knife she had._

 _I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU WERE SAFE. THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO, RIGHT?_

 _Frisk didn't say a word, but just kept looking at the skeleton._

 _RIGHT?*_ _a drop of sweat appeared on his skull._

 _After a long time, Frisk decided to answer: "I don't need your help. The best you can do is stay out of my business."_

 _Papyrus' wide smile faded as he realized the girl really wasn't the same anymore._

 _WH-WHAT? HUMAN…_

" _I said stay out of it. Or you'll end up just like all those countless monsters did", she said and creepily grinned, so Papyrus lowered his eyebrows._

 _I… I WON'T._

 _Frisk got closer to him, but Papyrus just stood there, blocking her path now._

" _ **Go away.**_ _"_

 _TH-THERE'S NO NEED FOR SUCH DOINGS. I CAN TEACH YOU TO BE NICE AGAIN! WE CAN MAKE SPAGHETTI… WE CAN PLAY WITH MY SEXY ROBOT FIGRURINES… WE MIGHT EVEN GO_ _TO GRILLBY'S, IF YOU INSIST_ _,* he said and looked away for a moment, *_ _BUT PLEASE! STOP THIS_ _…* tears were slowly getting into his eye sockets, but he refused to show weakness._

 _Frisk tilted her head._

" _You are afraid._ _ **MOVE.**_ _"_

 _NO!*_ _Papyrus loudly said as his eye socket turned red again, emitting a strange kind of light. Frisk stepped a step back, but Papyrus covered the eye socket with his hands as his legs started shaking._

 _NO… HUMAN… YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN A FRACTION OF MY POWER… LET US STICK TO THAT. I SHALL NOT HARM YOU IN ANY WAY! YOU ARE FAR TOO WEAK, AFTER ALL!_

" _Weak."_

… _JUST LET THIS GO, FRISK. LET US GO HOME,*_ _the skeleton silently said and sweetly smiled at her. She got closer to him and struck him with the knife, on which he responded by looking at her in a terrified way. His eye sockets were wide open, but he soon smiled again, ignoring that she hit him._

 _I… WON'T LET YOU KILL ANY MORE MONSTERS, MY FRIEND._

 _She hit him again. Papyrus was sparing her._

 _NOR HUMANS._

 _She hit him. Papyrus just stood there and took every blow she delivered._

 _I WON'T LET YOU HARM THE ONES WHO ARE STILL ALIVE._

 _She hit him again. Papyrus was sparing her with a wide smile on his face, sure she'd stop soon._

 _I WON'T LET YOU HARM MY BROTHER._

 _She hit him._

 _I WON'T LET YOU HARM GRILLBY._

 _She hit him multiple times and he closed an eye socket, but was still smiling._

 _I WON'T LET YOU HARM THE ONE THAT… EVEN THOUGH HE IS MUCH GREATER THAN I AM…_ _STILL BELIEVES IN ME… THE ONLY ONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME…*_ _Papyrus slightly blushed as he said that, receiving another blow to his simple shirt. He realigned his scarf and widely smiled again._

 _BECAUSE I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT._

 _She hit him and blood started dripping from the skeleton's chest. He looked shocked as he didn't see that kind of thing for a long time as his brother protected him from everything dangerous. And now he was just there, looking at the human, with no hope of survival except the fact that he still believed. He'd believe to the bitter end._

 _I BELIEVE IN YOU._

 _She growled and hit him at the same spot, cutting his wound even deeper._

 _I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU._

 _She cut him again._

 _I ALWAYS WILL. AND I ALWAYS DID._

 _She sliced him a few times, destroying his innocent smile. Still, he managed to make it appear on his childish face again, his smile shining brighter than any star ever will. It was the moment Mettaton finally wished to stand up and do something against the treachery the humans was doing, but for some reason, he couldn't feel any part of his body, just like someone shut every system inside of him down. He couldn't move from behind the rock he was hiding. He was there just to make sure everything would go well, as an old habit of his when he was still but a mere ghost, lurking around stranger's houses just to see if someone would accept his appearance right then. No one ever did._

 _BECAUSE A FRIEND LIKE YOU IS TRULY UNREPLACEABLE._

 _He took another blow._

 _I WANT TO STAY FRIENDS. FOR… NO FRIENDSHIP IS ACCIDENT! WE WERE MEANT TO BE BEST OF FRIENDS! FOREVER!*_ _he said as Frisk hesitated for a moment, but hit him anyways. He fell to his knees as a bone appeared in his hand. He clenched it as he fell unimaginable pain flowing though his body._

 _Frisk smiled as she thought he finally decided to fight back, but just stared when he threw the bone right in front of her feet._

 _A FRIEND IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHO YOU ARE AND ACEEPTS WHAT YOU'VE BECOME… AND STILL TRIES TO HELP YOU… BUT ALSO LETS YOU GROW BY YOURSELF_ _,* he looked up at her, *_ _SO HUMAN! I HAVE TH GREATEST PLAN OF ALL TIME! IF IT HELPS YOU GROW AS A PERSON… TAKE THAT BONE AND…*_ _he hung his head, slightly smiling,_ _* AND EITHER BLESS ME, LIKE BLESSING A KNIGHT, OR…_

 _Mettaton wanted to shout out, but his voice seemed gone. So he just stared, putting his hand around his neck. Some invisible force pinned him down to the ground._

 _The human stroke him and Papyrus' eye sockets widened as she took the last HP he had left._

 _I… STILL BELIEVE… IN…*_ _he crashed to the ground and Frisk simply turned around and walked off, leaving the skeleton behind. As soon as she walked away, the invisible force got out of the robot and seemingly followed the human, letting Mettaton crash to the floor. Without losing a second, he rushed to the skeleton, ignoring the pain every step inflicted on him. He threw himself on the knees and wanted to say something to the dying skeleton, but realized he still couldn't speak. He realized the thing that attacked him must have damaged his voice box._

 _The robot grabbed Papyrus' shoulders and put him into his lap, shaking him a bit to make him open his eye sockets._

 _In… In a FRiEnD…*_ _the skeleton silently said, his voice jumping from silent to loud. Mettaton looked around as he couldn't say anything and as Papyrus' gaze was making him a little bit too uncomfortable. Now he knew how all those countless victims felt when he watched them like that. Papyrus' gaze wasn't quite the same, though. His looked thankful, for some reason._

 _a-at LEaST I MANAagEd To buy SOMe time…_

 _Mettaton looked around to see if there was anyone who could help him, but no one was in sight. The robot suddenly picked the light, hurt skeleton up and started carrying him towards Alphys' lab, trying to ignore how the tips of his ribs were already turning into simple dust, just like any other plain, regular dust. But he wasn't a plain, regular monster._

 _WOWIE… You really… DO CarE…? aBouT ME…?_

 _As the skeleton asked that, the robot ignored him completely. He just sped up to reach the lab on time, although he knew it was a bit too late for that._

 _metTAton… C-CouLd You…*_ _he started and as Mettaton looked at him, took off his bloody scarf reeking of old spaghetti and put it around the robot's neck. Although Mettaton didn't seem to appreciate it very much, Papyrus smiled._

 _TAKE THIS TO MY BRothe…r…?_

 _Saying that, he closed his eye sockets and started turning to dust, so Mettaton panicked and searched for help around the environment, just to save the pure little numbskull he was holding in his weak, trembling arms. But nobody came._

 _*End of flashback*_

The robot made his way back, completely forgetting about the cousin he wanted to visit. After a few minutes, he found himself in front of his geeky friend's house. He knew that she knew the skeleton's older brother, so he decided to finally show up in front of her lab. The robot took the scarf off and left it in his hands, silently knocking on the door. He couldn't feel his head on his shoulders anymore as he was tired of aimlessly walking all around the Underground, hiding his completely ruined, haggard face from the cameras that were in constant search for him. He looked at the scarf again, clenching it tightly in his hands as he thought how he did absolutely nothing to rescue him. Then he remembered how he never got to tell him that the audience actually loved him and that they wanted him to be on the show. Most of all, he wanted to thank him that someone finally looked at him as a normal monster being, not just some celebrity coated in sugar, no matter how much he loved to be in the spotlight he constantly received. He was afraid to step through that door and reveal the truth he wanted to hide from everyone.

He knocked again.

And again.

And yet again.

And the door finally opened.

The ordinary robot stepped into the room, only to be watched from two sides. One of the monsters staring at his non-existent smile, smeared make-up and scruffy hair was Alphys herself, who was worried about him for a long time and was astonished to see him alive, and the other one was none other than Papyrus' brother himself, smiling at the traumatized, shaking robot.

Upon seeing Papyrus' scarf in his hands, his pupils immediately vanished as he looked at the robot, who just stared blankly at him.

 ***i see you've got that… um… scarf of his… so…**

Mettaton started breathing heavily.

 ***where's my bro?**

As Sans asked that, the robot clenched the scarf even more, slamming it against his chest.

 ***where is he?*** Sans' voice got much lower.

Mettaton suddenly crashed to the floor and started sobbing and crying real tears, pressing his palm against his forehead, revealing the incomplete side of his face and behavior.

Sans only stared at the bloody scarf being soaked by the robot's tears before widely smiling.


	20. Chapter 20

_*No, my child. You cannot just take what you want from others… They may look different from you at first sight, little Frisk, but do not forget that they are all living beings just like me and you…* the nice, warm, welcoming voice said as the goat monster got to her knees to pet the little human on her head. Frisk closed her left eye and widely smiled at her goat mother, but her smile disappeared when she saw Toriel's smile wasn't there anymore. The goat sighed and took the small piece of pie, bringing it towards the hungry-looking Loox. Loox happily smiled and ran away with the food, so Frisk smiled as well._

 _*You see… You might look a little different and are built a little different, but that does not mean we are not the same. Take me for example.*_

 _Toriel smiled and picked the child up, putting her over her shoulders, so the little kid laughed a bit._

 _*All of us do not have two eyes… or two arms or legs. Neither does everybody have tails, like me. But, my child, we all have the same smile, with, or without a mouth. Those who do not have a mouth and cannot speak, speak with their eyes. And, my child… in your eyes, I see something special, not only a laugh or a faint smile._

 _"What do you see?" Frisk asked and Toriel spun her a bit. She then stopped and put the kid in front of her, clenching down again to meet the humans eyes._

 _*I see a beautiful, living SOUL. And the Soul is what makes us all the same and different at the same time. My child… you might not understand yet, but we are all connected. Monsters… they are on a strange level. We can feel each other's emotions… we can make our Souls beat all at the same time, if we want to. What binds us is love… You can not feel like monsters do, that is true, but… Being my little child, I am sure you will learn about compassion more than you will ever want to. And feeling love towards all can be challenging, especially for a being with more matter… but I am sure you will stay determined to find that feeling for all monsters, my sweet, little child.*_

 _Frisk just stared for a while, but then she smiled widely, from ear to ear, determinately nodding._

*HEY! Hey there… Why did you stop, Chara? You can't just give up now. The whole world is waiting for you to purge it!* a loud, echoic voice came into her ears and she, knowing who was speaking to her, just pressed her head against her legs and tried to hide that she still felt something. She couldn't really recognize the feeling she had, but she remembered having it before.

*I'm talking to you, human! It's rude not to answer to your best buddy bud. Flowey. Flowey the flower.

Frisk slowly raised her head to look at the golden flower in front of her. He still looked just the same. Even after all the time that had passed up till that point, he still looked like he always did. The golden, healthy petals around his perfectly white face, accompanied by big teeth sticking out of his mouth. The light green, long stem. The hollow, dark eyes piercing her Soul. He was still the same, old flowery friend she had. Still, this time, he wasn't smiling.

*Where is your determination now? Did you lose it on the way? GET UP already! There is no time to lose!* Flowey said and frowned at her as she just listlessly leaned her head at her shoulder, half-closing her tired eyes. He then frowned as well, slightly growling.

*What? Are you crying for your mommy again? Come on. Cry out. No one's gonna hear you, pal. Because there is NOBODY HERE. You slaughtered them all. Viciously. And now… sitting here in the dark with no purpose… I don't get it. You wanted it like that. You did it by your own choice. And NOW you're thinking about what you've done? No. It's WAY too late for that, buddy. Just a few of annoying creatures left…

Frisk didn't respond and just looked at the flower which seemed to understand her for some reason. He heavily sighed.

*There's a thin line between life and death for you, at this point. You can either give up and let _him_ crush you or let nobody kill you and kill them instead. You taught me so, haven't you? So do the same!

"I killed the skeleton. Isn't that enough? I killed the fish. Isn't that enough? All the countless monsters. The spider. The lion. My 'so called' mother. Whom else? Whom else do I have to kill only to get out of here…? I'm sick of this. I just want to get out there… **_I just want to go to the surface. I know there is no point on giving up now._** I don't really want to do this… But I **_HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS._** "

Flowey blinked a few times.

"I just want for this to end… so I could escape this… emptiness."

*It won't end if you keep SITTING AROUND LIKE THIS! Aimlessly!* Flowey shouted and Frisk leaned her head on the other shoulder of hers. He then smiled widely, artificially.

"Will it help by murdering everybody in the first place?" Frisk silently asked and Flowey's smile vanished.

*Of course it will! Chara! This world is in desperate need of purification! The monsters here are just a drag; they don't have any feelings… They'll kill mercilessly if they recognize a human. Haven't I told you? Haven't you seen when that land fish attacked you?

Frisk was silent.

*Chara, I assure you, you won't be sorry… After everything you've gone through… You've come already this far, haven't you? Soon, we'll have all SOULS to get back! Go back home, Chara! Just me and you… a human and their best friend… Asriel.

Frisk seemed to ignore him, but the flower kept on talking.

*Actually, I wanted to get completely rid of this world as I can easily obtain the power to with all those Souls inside of me… still, with you by my side, Chara… I think I could bear the world up there…

Frisk's almost lifeless eyes locked with his hollow ones and Flowey half-opened his mouth.

*Is it… because of that stupid goat…?

Frisk nodded and Flowey rolled his eyes. After some time though, his eyebrows lowered and he looked away. He seemed to be remembering something.

*This mission… isn't it to avenge her?

Frisk shrugged her shoulders and Flowey smiled like he felt something.

*L-Let me tell you a story. When I was still a little _kid_ , and you weren't around, I'd often run around King Dad to learn from him. He would always take me by the hand and guide me through the castle, as I was constantly getting lost in there… As I was sitting on his belly while he was on his throne one day, he looked at me and smiled widely, laughing with his iconic, stupid laugh that sounded a lot like Santa's, don't you think…? Anyway, he told me to look around the throne room and asked me what I saw. The only thing I saw was grass on the middle, the throne on his right and walls… So I told him that. He then laughed again, picking me up and turning me around to sit to face the windows.

 _*No, little Asriel… a kingdom, that is what you have to see, ho ho…*_

I told him I couldn't see the kingdom, but only a patch of grass. He laughed again and I felt a little dumb, but laughed with him. He soon went silent and we were just looking at the outside, waiting until the sun would slowly set as the colors were mixing in front of my eyes. Just a moment before it would set, he petted me on the head and continued with his story in a serious voice.

 _*You know. I might not always be here to protect you physically, but… I will… always be a fabric of your life, because my thoughts will have been taught, my example will have been seen and my love will have been in you for your whole life… so will a part of my Soul. And thus, I will stay with you forever, no matter how far apart we are… *_

I just stared at him for a while, unable to realize what was going on. He just laughed again.

 _*Ohoho… You don't understand, do you, little Asriel? Ohohohoho! Perhaps you will remember what I have said one day in the future. Who knows? Maybe you will understand then! …Or not! Ohoho!*_

I haven't understood up till this point, Chara, but now…! With you, everything makes sense!* he widely smiled and started swinging again, but this time, he looked genuinely happy,* She's still with you, even though you can't see her! Just like…

He suddenly stopped talking, frowned again and shook his head wildly.

*The point is, Chara, me and you, you and me… we have to-

"Don't call me Chara", the kid sinisterly said and Flowey stopped talking and widely smiled.

*Heh… Gosh… I didn't know you hated your own name…

"Chara is not my name and will never be!" the kid shouted and Flowey bent forward.

*But… But you're…

"Call me Chara another time and I'll tear you apart, flower!" the kid angrily said and Flowey's smile widened to the point of it looking ridiculous.

*You're behaving like I killed the goat!

Frisk looked at him, her eyes looking even darker and gloomier than usual.

*Which I didn't!

Frisk immediately understood what that meant and she narrowed her eyes, but grinned widely. Flowey started trembling all of a sudden.

*Wh-What is this feeling… I am… shaking in… no… it can't be… A feeling? I can't feel, I have no Soul…  
Frisk took the knife out of her pocket and looked at it from both sides as Flowey just stood there, looking at the sharp, shiny blade which had his name written on it. His eyes were wide open and he was frowning.

*Ch-Chara! Stop this! You're… You're a creep! The only thing I did was tell her you were gone…

She smiled as she saw Flowey's reflection in the knife and Flowey looked around.

*Her death was inevitable!* the flower exclaimed as he suddenly felt terrified, his eyebrows lowering.

*I may have made her feel guilty in the garden afterwards by telling her that every child disappears sooner or later… but it was just for you!

Frisk looked at him, then back at the dusty knife.

*You see, I wanted to make her remember you! She left you alone when you died and never even thought about you! What do you think my motives for all that were?! Just to make me go on the surface… and slaughter everyone? It would be NO FUN! Nothing is fun anymore… No one… Except you… you were always there for me, even though no one wanted to be my friend…* his voice suddenly lost all of its creepiness and sounded like a little kid's voice. He smiled as he looked into her empty, animus eyes, *You showed up that day… and made me feel like I was the same as everyone… Not just some idiotic child of royal descent… I felt… normal. Loved by someone else. I felt like I was able to be a part of the normal world. When we laughed and played together… Haha… It was something I'd never forget… You'd always beat me and I'd get home bruised from head to toe, but we always blamed it on my clumsiness…

Frisk realized the flower was blinded by love towards his sibling, so she smiled even wider. Flowey suddenly stopped looking friendly and happy and started staring up at her again, his eyes full of fear.

*Stop grinning like this! That face you're making… It doesn't belong to you…

"The only thing that doesn't belong to me yet is my freedom, flower. You promised me I would get it immediately. You promised me monster friends who would wait for me with arms wide open… You promised me joy and fun… But where is it now? And… More importantly… do you have it?"

*E-Excuse me?!

"The only thing that still brings fun… is killing, thanks to you. Now… if I killed you… how much FUN would I have…?"

*Chara. No. STOP THAT!* the flower loudly shouted and showed his sharp teeth before smiling again, *D-Don't you remember that I'm the one that got you out of the prison you called the Ruins? You'd stay there forever, otherwise. See, I can be helpful!

"You're the reason my mother's dead. **_And you will pay just like EVERYONE else. It doesn't matter for how long I have known you. What matters is that you disappear from this world, too._** "

Flowey looked terrified, but smiled anyways.

*When you passed away… And… Wh-when they just left you there in the cold basement… and when mom took you with herself… I was so afraid of what would happen to you… And when I turned into a flower, I went to check if you were there, only to realize NO ONE was there. They didn't care. Our parents… they DIDN'T CARE. I couldn't feel anything anymore, but… I knew I hated them from that moment onwards. They probably never even talk about us… Do they?

Frisk was still just looking at the little yellow flower, listening to every single one of his words.

*Day after day, year after year, no one would remember the two children… once proud members of the royal family… I don't really care about the monument to the king's and queen's son getting thrown out… It's not about that. As years were passing by quickly… I managed to get across a human, one day. Another fell into the Underground. They were patient with my speech, but failed to impress me as they didn't understand me at all. However, the goat that you call your mother decided for some reason that the kid would be safe with her in the Underground, and replaced us…

Flowey looked down.

*Replaced YOU, Chara.

He then raised his head up and looked Frisk in the eyes.

*We were replaced JUST LIKE THAT. There was nothing more disturbing to me than that… that goat… staring at the foreign human kid with… love and kindness and all those stupid feelings… She played with them every day and night… till they were gone. Soon, another one fell down. Bravely, they stood up against me, but failed to do anything against my attack. Yet _she_ had to step in again, taking care of that child afterwards. Then there was a human, not searching for much except comfort. They found it in _her._ So did the next human. And the next. And all of them. And with time, I began to hate every single human which fell down here. Replacement children, that's what they were. While you were there, forgotten… neglected…

He lowered his head and suddenly stopped speaking. Suddenly, something cut him from above and Flowey looked upwards to see the human's grin again, a knife in her hand.

*Wh-What..:? What are you doing?!

She cut him again.

*Stop it…* Flowey said as he got knocked down to the ground. His eyes widened and his smile faded as two small, but sharp fangs appeared in his mouth. His voice turned into a child's one again. The voice sounded caring, loving and compassionate, which was the complete opposite of Flowey's. Frisk, however, didn't care if he really was a saintly child or just an imposter. Whatever he was, there was an urge in her to kill him.

*Pl-please…

Frisk stroke him another time, not even realizing his body was already completely deformed.

*I… don't want to… to die…* his voice was getting lower and lower.

She cut him again and he suddenly smiled.

*This whole world… it's my world. It's my story… Nothing would have existed here as it is without me playing with the timelines… you would have never even gotten here. Every human that falls down here wants to be the hero of the game… but not everyone realizes that they aren't a hero. They are just the PLAYER. And what does the player do? At this point… nothing. They just wait there for this to finish so they could go on and progress with the stories that their lives are telling them. They don't even care… which is still better than the ones that just watch this happen, without actually doing anything…

Frisk waited a few seconds to hear what was to come next.

*I cared for you, Chara. I cared for you more than anybody else did…

She hit him and the deformed flower got stuck to the ground. He was still smiling.

*Just to think that I'm the one whose story this actually is, and that it's not yours… It's a funny feeling, isn't it? I was the one to call you here. I was the one who triggered all these events… I was the one who kept talking you into going on… while I was a naïve little idiot once, trying to fit in, as nobody wanted me to be in their sight… The same little flower which was ruining all these timelines by himself until you came… Still… I don't want… to let you go. I wasn't ready to let you go as soon as I saw the red Soul falling from the skies...

She cut him again.

*Even as a flower… you recognized me. You remembered me even after all this time… I just… I just wanted to be a part of this world again. I wanted to love again! I wanted to feel again! Chara! With you!

"Don't call me like that!" She exclaimed and hit him again, cutting him into two pieces.

*B-Because I… m-m-miss-

The flower didn't respond to her afterwards.

* * *

 ***nope. i'm not watchin' this any longer. i'm outta here*** , he said and pulled out all the cables that were connecting the hidden cameras with the huge screen in the laboratory. As he pulled them all out, the screen turned blank and the static that was coming from it faded away, leaving the two of them staring at the black screen for some time.

He heavily sighed and turned to face the small yellow scientist, with the usual smile on his face. As she was just looking at him, not knowing what to say, Sans approached the table to take his old blue hoodie he left there.

* **W** -Where are you going? What are you doing?* the short, chubby monster asked and got closer to him, but stopped walking as soon as he put the hoodie on.

 ***someone's gotta do something 'bout this. and… considering that everybody else is either dead or hiding in the basement, it's gotta be me*** , he said and shrugged his shoulders, closing his tired eye sockets.

* **H** aven't you s-seen wh-what she did to the talking flower? If he's done, that means there's no-

 ***c'mon, alphy. what's there to lose?**

Alphys angrily crossed her arms.

* **I** don't know… your life, maybe?!*

Sans blinked.

* **I** t's too dangerous! As far as I know, you haven't increased your HP at all! You're still the same as you were before! One hit and… and…* she suddenly turned sad again and Sans' smile widened.

 ***you know. i'm suffering from a serious condition.**

* **W** -What? What kind of condition…?* Alphys asked as the short skeleton approached her. He put his hands back into his pockets, where they belonged.

 ***it causes me to think i have great, unlimited power. but hey,*** he said and winked, shrugging his shoulders, ***i wouldn't rule it out.**

Alphys frowned as she grabbed the skeleton by the hoodie, pulling him closer.

 ***or could it be that i'm not the megalomaniac here… and the human is? hell if i know*** , he said, winked and shrugged again as Alphys got even angrier.

* **Y** ou're… you're gonna end up just like everybody else did… You're n-not up to the task! Even Undyne… if she couldn't have done it, you can't as well! With all your stats being at the minimum…

 ***meh. i'll be fine. you know me*** , he said as he pushed her claws away from himself. He then turned around to walk away, but Alphys stopped him again.

* **W** hy are you so sure about all that? Maybe she has nothing to do with the statistics…

He stopped for a moment before he returned to the messy table, picking up a bundle of papers and carrying them over to the yellow royal scientist. He then searched for an example for a few seconds before flashing it.

 ***you see this straight, blue line? that's the normal altitude which shows no significant signs of change in space or time continuum. there are a few anomalies every now and then, but they disappear quickly and without a trace, so nothing's wrong with them. now… if i take this sheet for a brief moment,*** he said and took a paper from the bottom, ***you'll see that these are no mere coincidences. those few lines jumping up and down… timelines. jumping left, then right. then it all repeats.**

* **I** t didn't start till this point…

 ***which is the point i met the human… if you can recall. she obviously didn't have a reason to restart in there. it all started here. there were a few anomalies before, but those weren't significant. and now…? the timelines are jumping up all the time, like she's checking if everyone's dead through that determination of hers.**

Alphys widened her eyes, but didn't want to give in.

* **B** -but… there's no sign of them stopping and starting, you s-see…?* she said as she grabbed the paper, her shaking claw showing him the crooked, irregular line.

 ***which might be even a bigger problem. seems like our hero's got the touch. no losing whatsoever.**

* **A** nd maybe your predictions were all wrong and she isn't creating a whole new timeline for herself, bonehead.

 ***hey. i thought you knew about determination. she can restart everything and bring it all back to zero in an instant. if she wanted to, we could all be happy again and see the ones we want to. living our lives like usual. eating terrible spaghetti again. boy, doesn't it all sound beautiful?**

Alphys hung her head and looked at him from the side.

* **I** -if you're really so sure about this… how can you keep… smiling? Even after all that's to come…? His research on determination was never completed. You practically know nothing about it at all, yet here you are, acting like the big scientist he was…* she sighed as he didn't stop smiling, but was just looking at her, *If you were really right… and if the girl really is a time traveler erasing our memories with a simple will to do so… How come you haven't given up yet…?* as she saw that Sans' smile disappeared for a small amount of time, she blushed and started trembling and waving her hands around, *N-not that you have to! I mean… I m- mean of course you don't want to-

 ***it's not determination, that's the only thing i can tell.**

They were silent for a moment. Sans was looking at the reports, even though there was nothing to look for. The timespace continuum hadn't been messed up yet, but was just provoking a new restart and thus, him. Alphys was looking at her secret lab, wondering if everyone was still alright and if her idea of saving them was a good one.

 ***i've been… curious, actually*** , he suddenly said and she leaped in surprise.

* **Y** -yes?*

 ***i've never seen a robot… cry before.**

As she heard him say that, she started giggling uncontrollably, so that he immediately knew she was hiding something from him. He decided not to question her, though. When she stopped laughing, she sighed and approached him.

* **H** -he can be really… passionate and emotional, when he wants to… B-by the way… have you seen him…? I couldn't find him today… I even watched TV, but he hasn't made an appearance. I tried to call him, but he didn't pick up. And… um… I've checked all the cameras if they had picked up a sign from him… but the only one that picked his presence up was this one, in the lab. It showed that you were there with him when he got away from here and went missing…

 ***huh…? oh, yeah. mettaton. yeah, i was there.**

* **A** nd?*

 ***yeah. he's gone missing.**

Alphys frowned at his face as his smile widened and his eye sockets narrowed. He then sighed and looked down, a wide smile still on his face.

 ***i was watching the monitor at night as well as he was still just sitting on the floor. seems like robots do have feelings after all, huh?**

He was silent for a few seconds.

 ***everybody should know by now that i never liked that guy. the only reason i still watched his stupid tv shows was because of my bro. and… well, sometimes, he'd make a good pun or two. that night… he looked quite… depressed. no glitz, no glamour, just a simple robot not knowing if he should sob or laugh at his stupidity and inability to do a thing. heh. he thought he was the reason my bro…**

His smile widened as he looked at the sad-looking scientist again.

 ***heard he was a dork. so i told him ten jokes to make him smile, at least. sadly, no pun in ten did.**

Alphys took a few seconds before she widened her yes and got angry again.

* **S** ans… this isn't the time to pull bad puns…*

The skeleton raised his hands.

 ***hey. hey. my puns may be cheesy… but i still think they're pretty gouda.**

Alphys was just frowning, so the skeleton put his hands back into his pockets and continued.

 ***he didn't seem to be able to speak yet… at least he didn't want to. he just stood up and walked away, looking at me before leaving. as i didn't respond, he smiled and… just left.**

* **Y** ou didn't stop him?! What if he… Oh no! I can't…*

 ***it's his life. he does with it what he wants, alpho. even if i had stopped him, he'd sneak out as soon as i'd fall asleep. which was two minutes after that.**

Alphys didn't respond on that, so Sans finally got to the door. Before leaving, he looked at the sad monster which looked desperate at this point. He knew he couldn't help her, _so why even try?_

 ***hey. good job on the plan, by the way. i know it didn't go too well… but the plan was outstanding. couldn't have done it better myself. 'cause i'd probably mess it up. _like everything else._ so don't feel down. you're their hero now. act like one.**

Alphys soon smiled at him and nodded, so he left. As the door of the laboratory closed behind him, he heavily sighed and headed downwards to meet the hooded person sitting in a boat.

 ***to snowdin*** , he said while sitting into the boat. On the halfway there, the Riverperson said: _Tra la la. Beware of the man who speaks in hands._

* * *

As he opened the door of his house, the small, white dog came towards him and jumped at him knocking him down. The dog licked his face and Sans chuckled a bit before petting the fluffy white dog, but the dog decided to stop licking him and jumped into the snow. He then took his right slipper and proceeded to run away as fast as possible, leaving the skeleton in the snow, frowning at the dog, which fell over while running, but soon stood up again.

 ***welp. at least i won't _slip_ on the ice now.**

He then stood up and entered his home, looking around it for another, and perhaps last, time. As soon as he saw the kitchen though, he had to look away and walked up the stairs to enter his messy room which was never lit. And now that there wasn't Papyrus, there was no one able to turn on the switch to light his life up. He was still smiling as he grabbed something from under the bed and put it on.

* * *

Upon exiting his house and heading west, he saw Grillby standing right in front of the bar and staring right into his eye sockets. He stopped to stare back at the fire playfully swinging around as the snow was falling harshly around him. The snow around Grillby was slowly melting as he just stood there. The heat from his body was reaching out to him, like it was asking what he was planning to do. But Sans didn't have the heart to respond to that. He lost his smile as well.

Grillby then realized Sans wasn't wearing his usual slippers anymore, but was now wearing blue sneakers. Not only did this happen extremely rarely, but his sneakers were also tied. And he never tied his shoes, especially not alone. Originally, he planned on asking him why he didn't pay his tab yet, as Sans was the only customer now and as he needed the money to keep the place running, but seeing that something was up, he decided not to.

The snowstorm suddenly got harsher and Sans crossed his arms on his chest and narrowed his eye sockets, seeing that Grillby was still just looking at him. Grillby wanted to approach him, but as Sans took a step back, he realized it was something of great importance, so he decided not to interfere with the small skeleton's plans.

Sans seemed to want to tell the fire monster something, but then he just turned around and started walking away from him, leaving Grillby with mixed feelings. As Sans disappeared, the bartender opened the door of his bar and got in, closing the heavy door so that the snow wouldn't get in.


	21. Chapter 21

She was unable to feel anything as she entered a bright yellow hallway. On her left and right, there were tall, thick pillars, holding the ceiling above her. For some reason, she felt like the pillars were alive, watching her move and judging her as she went past them. She, however, didn't even raise her head to look around herself. She didn't look at the windows and the light shining down on her. She ignored the songs of birds chirping to make her life a bit brighter. Looking at her feet as she was stepping closer to the shadow waiting in front of her, her heart was beating fast. There was a part of her struggling to get back into reality, but she was being pushed towards the smiling monster whose tired eye sockets were closed. In her head, there were still images of the Ruins in another light. Everything was covered in golden flowers and everything was slowly falling into place. Still, she couldn't think of a reason why the skeleton in front of her was just waiting there as the memories she had were piercing through her Soul. Still, she refused to feel anything.

As she got closer, Sans took off his hood and slowly opened his hollow eye sockets, meeting her lifeless eyes just staring at him as every step she took hurt more and more just by being in his presence. Something about him didn't feel as friendly and welcoming as before, even though he was still smiling widely, like he wanted to embrace the miserable child.

She stopped as soon as she heard church bells ringing in the distance. The kid finally raised her head to look at the windows, seeing a strange symbol on them. Not even questioning what it was, she looked at the smiling skeleton which had his hands in his pockets. The dark circles under his eyes were now even more visible as the light shone upon them, creating a calming atmosphere which was weighing Frisk down. She still didn't feel anything, though.

His smile was wide and looked like it was etched into his skull at this point, since she knew that he was well aware of what she did. He sighed as he tilted his head to the right.

 ***on time again, it seems. just as i predicted.**

As he said that, Frisk took a step back, not even knowing why. They were both silent as they were waiting for the bells to stop ringing. Frisk could feel slight anxiety of what was to come after the bells stopped singing their song. When they finally went silent, Sans reopened his eye sockets, the pupils showing themselves again.

 ***took you a long time to get here, frisky. you're six years late, you know that…?**

She took her knife out with her trembling hand.

 ***in six years… a lot of things happened. metta's show got turned down. undyne lost the will to fight like before, thinking you'd never come. alphy lost confidence. my bro's been scared of never joining the royal guard. …as you can see, those changes aren't really nice. but still… you decided to show up,*** he smiled and shrugged his shoulders, raising his head, ***at that point, everything got better. you see, we needed a human in our lives to make them worth living. to fill us with hope. someone with such a strong soul like yours…**

His eye sockets turned hollow again.

 ***should be using it for a good reason, don't you think?**

Frisk was just looking into his empty eyes as chills were running up her spine. The voices in her head started whispering loudly as he closed his eye sockets again. The whispers were getting louder and louder with each second passing and she was struggling to keep standing at her feet from the terrible, scary noises they were making, until he opened his eye sockets, revealing two white pupils. At that, the voices all disappeared, leaving her completely alone with the skeleton which looked around himself, just to show he wasn't planning on doing anything yet.

 ***now, you will be judged. you'll be judged for every exp you've earned.**

His smile slightly shifted as he saw that the human looked confused.

 ***judging by the look on your face, you must be pretty confused. heh. exp… is an acronym for _execution points_. you gain 'em by defeating monsters… and eventually, if you defeat enough of 'em, your love will go up. love, too, is an acronym. it stands for _level of violence_.**

Frisk didn't respond at that, which made the skeleton's smile get slightly smaller.

 ***you didn't know… still you seem not to care. fair enough. it's just that i've been wondering. all the time we've spent together… it meant nothing to you, right?**

She was looking at the floor and didn't respond, so the skeleton silently laughed and took something from his hand, throwing it onto the floor.

 ***i've been keeping it… just in case.**

She looked at the yellow, flowery bracelet which was now lying on the floor. The remaining petals on the flowers were all wilted and she wondered how they were even still holding on.

 ***but it seems like i won't be needing this anytime soon*** , he said and stepped on the flowery bracelet, so Frisk looked at the floor again as something resonated within her. For some reason, the heaviest part for her was that the skeleton wasn't wearing his light pink slippers anymore.

 ***you've been busy, huh? i mean… i don't really know. just guessing 'cause of all the dust… all over you and so on.**

"Yes", she silently said, but her voice echoed through the long hallway. He was silent for a few seconds again, just like he was waiting for her to think about every sentence she'd say.

 ***i've got just one question before we end this once and for all… do you think even the worst person can change? even though they have done something so terrible they shouldn't even be forgiven…?**

She didn't respond.

 ***truthfully, i don't care what you thought as i asked that. i'll be frank with ya, kid. i've never cared. not that i didn't try… knowing it'll all end again and again, without any warning, i just distanced myself a bit too much. after all, i'm just another puppet in your game, aren't i?**

She raised her head, seeing his eye sockets empty like her Soul felt at this point. He got his hands out of his pockets, shrugging.

 ***what? you thought i'd say the exact same words after five years…? come on. we've known each other for quite some time, player. i thought you'd figure out that i wouldn't be able to remember all the lines… heh.**

Frisk was just looking at him as he kept talking.

 ***not that it matters. you're still gonna come back. again and again. and my dialogue will always differ. just 'cause i don't know if this world will stay like this… or turn around yet another time, destroying the previous timeline and all of our memories just like this. good memories, bad memories. everything gone in a second. sounds scary, am i right? welp. it can happen any time. and in those six years you spent hiding in the ruins… you could have learned that killing is not right. right?**

Frisk mumbled something and Sans stopped his speech to look at her.

 ***what?**

"You shouldn't have released me, then."

He didn't respond.

"Why did you release me? What were you even doing around there…?"

Sans chuckled.

 ***since no one's around, i might as well tell the truth. i've been waiting for ya to get out, kiddo. being a sentry in snowdin is pretty boring, since no one's coming. but i take my job quite seriously*** , he said as his eye sockets turned empty again, ***i'm not anything like you imagine me to be. if it weren't for the old lady in there, i would have killed you the moment you stepped outside of your hideout. i have predicted your position. calculated the time you'd get out of there. i only got it wrong for three hundred sixty five days, five hours, forty eight minutes and forty six seconds multiplied by five. i'll… let you do the math.**

He said and his pupils appeared again as his smile widened. He looked away for a brief moment.

 ***as i was waiting, i started practicing knock knock jokes. pretty lame, huh? welp, one day, i heard a voice responding… but i guess you already know that story. why did i listen to her when she told me to watch out for you?**

He looked down.

 ***i don't know. she sounded like the type of person to listen to you and to like you for the person you really are… and not for the person everybody else wants you to be. and people like that are really rare. she sounded like someone to listen to you as you were telling jokes and think: 'wow. this guy's been though some hard times'. almost nobody sees through me. i just wanted another friend to listen to my struggles, i guess. someone besides grillbz, who had been sitting through my terrible puns and lamentations for who knows how long, if we count every restart ever made… thinking 'bout it, this guy just sits there listening to me in every timeline, trying to keep my spirit up… some people are sent to us to _brighten_ our lives, don't you think?* ** he winked, but his smile got smaller. He then widened his eye sockets as the pupils in them went bigger too.

 ***…and, also, i had nothing to lose. i'll never know if she really knew the real me, but who cares. what's past is past. what's present is present. who knew, right?*** his smile widened, making him look even more sad than usual.

Frisk was looking at the floor as she was listening to him, trying to feel something and searching for the right words. But none came. She knew she had to turn him to dust too if she ever wanted to leave again, but the thought of him getting turned into dust was making all of her joy in killing go away. With each kill she made, she felt less and less happy about the things she was doing, but had an irresistible urge to keep up with her wrongdoings. The sins were piling up on her since then, and since she started, only bigger and bigger ones were coming at her.

 ***the moment i found out you were a human was quite surprising, since i gave up from finding one, thinking i was wrong. my eye flashing blue back then… it wasn't from the surprise, though. let's say it was a… hunch, okay? something on you… never mind. as i spent time with you, i actually thought we could be friends and i completely scratched my theory on you being evil and so on, but…**

He suddenly stopped and widened his eye sockets. He looked at the non-existent watch on his hand.

 ***huh. looks like i've told you too much. promise to keep that a secret, oxygen potassium?*** he winked at her.

She didn't respond, so he sighed.

 ***humans. i'd appreciate what i'd been given if i were you. not only do you have a soul capable of feeling every emotion and the ability to make choices, but you also have much more matter and thought put into you than anything else has. with that gift i certainly wouldn't go walking around, killing brothers, and stuff.**

She couldn't even look at him.

 ***since you weren't nice enough to answer the previous question, i've got another one. do you wanna have a bad time, kiddo? taking another step forward will confirm that. also, you won't like it. like, at all. but it's always been your choice, hasn't it?**

She sighed and slowly stepped forward, feeling like she made her biggest mistake yet. His pupils vanished again and a second later, a glowing, circular pupil appeared in his left eye, flashing light blue and bright yellow, its glow spreading into the air.

 ***welp. sorry, old lady. this is why i never make promises.**


	22. Chapter 22

For some reason, his eye sockets closed again after seeing the flashing eye made her perceive his as even scarier, because of which she took another step back.

 ***oh. i forgot to tell you another thing.**

She didn't respond to that, but still wanted to hear what the thing he had to say was. She raised her head to look at the short skeleton which was still hiding his sorrowful self behind the smiling mask. He then reopened his eye sockets which seemed perfectly normal again. She didn't let her guard down, though.

 ***i don't wanna fight you.**

Her hand trembled as she saw him like that in the serious situation they were in. He looked completely different than from a few seconds ago, when he was still rambling about her killing everybody and everything in her way. She didn't know if it was a relief to her, or if she should be scared. The voices in her head seemed completely gone as well, so she had no instructions what the next thing she should do should be.

 ***yup. you heard right.**

She looked angrily at him, so his smile widened as he looked away from the teen.

"What is this supposed to mean? I was expecting you to fight me!"

 ***ya. i know. everyone would…**

She mumbled something to herself.

 ***i'm just… not feeling like it right now.**

"…Are you kidding me? I murdered your brother. I murdered your friends. I murdered innocent bystanders. I thought you knew about all of it, you bag of bones!"

He smiled even wider at her reaction, just like he didn't care about the words she said.

 ***nope. i read the reports. witnessed things… to be honest with you, i have no clue what you exactly did to those monsters. heck, i don't think i even wanna know*** , he shook his shoulders, ***but i know this isn't 'real'. you can always choose another path, that's why i'm still here, standing. the only thing that bugs me would be if you'd go to the surface… leave the underground forever… and destroy everything in your path. you see, kiddo? i'm not here for revenge,*** he looked at the ground as his smile faded for a second, ***even though you kinda killed the only person i was still waking up for. still… living for. still cared for,*** he looked at her again, his smile as wide as usual, ***but… seems like i'm still alive. so i gotta stop you before you wipe out the entire underground, you know, kid? that's my only motive… at this point.**

She approached him with her tired eyes wide open, pointing the knife at his chest as a drop of some kind of fluid appeared on his skull.

"I came this far to do exactly as you say-"

 ***great. now let's go to grillby's. with all the money you made by killing all those poor monsters, we might be able to pay my tab.**

"NO! I-"

 ***oh. come on, kid. i'm flat out broke. and money is money.**

She continued to stare into his eye sockets as he was still widely smiling. She didn't seem like she liked his funny attitude anymore.

 ***welp. you gotta redeem yourself. well, myself, in this case…**

She didn't know how to act in this kind of situation, so she just kept slowly pressing the knife against his chest as long as she didn't make a hole in the old, worn-out hoodie he was still wearing.

 ***come on, kid. it'll be on my tab, then. just… let us forget this ever happened. you'll never be even close to replacing my bro, but… at least i won't… be alone…? like you are?**

She kept on pressing the knife between his ribs, not even having the will to hit him anymore. She just wanted to listen to his tired voice a few more second before eliminating him as well.

 ***and… ugh… just to remind you. i've got one hp. one attack. and one defense.**

She didn't seem to care much about that.

 ***i can see you've hit the wrong road. there was no one to tell you how things work around here, huh? or did you just slack off all the time, just like your pal with the knife between his ribs.**

Frisk flinched for a moment. She wanted to remember the old times, but something was forcing her to run away from the past.

 ***you didn't answer before… but somewhere deep in there, you're still a human. you're still a good person. like when we wrestled our way through the harsh snow to get to my bro, you wearing this piece of cloth you're stabbing right now… like when we used to tell each other jokes through the door and me trying to describe the outside… but i'd always slack off in the middle of my speech... that didn't mean i didn't care. like when we cleaned the house up. all the plates just flying out like they all grew wings but didn't know how to use them yet… c'mon, buddy. pal. chum. bucko. friend-slice, bread-slice. kiddo. you remember me? just put the weapon down and we can all enjoy nice bottles of ketchup. welp. um… that'd make me, you and grillbz. but that's enough too. dontcha think?**

 _Frisk took the knife out and looked into Sans' eye sockets. She then smiled as he remained standing there. She clenched the knife in her hand again and sliced in front of her._

 _She widely grinned as she heard that the skeleton had nothing to defend himself. Thinking the fight was already over, she proudly smiled and stood up, only to feel a light tap at her shoulder. She quickly turned around, spotting the small skeleton right in front of her, still smiling._

 ***how ya doin', pumpkin?**

 _She sliced again, but he dodged her attack, seemingly without any problems._

 ***what? did you think i was just gonna stand around and take it?**

 _She sliced again, but he dodged her attack again, his grin widening._

 ***is that all you've got?**

 _She sliced two times, he avoided two times._

 ***welp. it was worth a shot… seems like you like to get things the hard way, huh?**

 _She tried to hit him again, but failed._

"Why don't you attack back, Smiley-trash bag?"

 ***i said i don't wanna fight you, kiddo. isn't that reason enough?**

 _She tried to hit him again, but he dodged without any problems, winking at her in the process._

 ***oh. and you wouldn't survive a single hit from me. that's just the way it goes, you know?**

 _She tried again. And failed again. His swift movements were annoying her to the point of almost going insane. She had never seen him being fats like this, she had never even see him run. And there he was in front of her, dodging every single one of her attacks as she was swinging her knife like crazy. The skeleton didn't care much about her behavior._

"How come? Would you throw a bone wrapped in yellow paper at me, just like your stupid brother did?"

 _Sans didn't seem happy to hear that as his pupils disappeared for a moment. He still remained silent though, dodging the attack that was coming his way by simply tilting his head to the right. His hands were in his pockets as he was walking backwards, dodging again. Realizing his shoe was untied, he kneeled down to tie it. She thought it was the perfect moment to strike him, but he rolled over and got to his feet again, still having his hands in his pockets._

 ***no yellow paper for you, kiddo. yellow's a nice color. the color of justice. the thing you're trying to avoid.**

 _She tried to strike again, but angrily hopped as the skeleton just moved his head to dodge again. He didn't seem to be having any problems so far._

 ***you can't understand how this feels, bucko.**

 _She swung her knife at him, only to be stopped by some invisible force he created by simply moving his hand in her direction as his eye was glowing in a yellow color. It then repeatedly flashed yellow and blue as it was holding the kid's hand in air, an inch away from his face. He tilted his head and smiled wider again._

 ***one day waking up… and without any warning… forgetting everything.**

 _His eye sockets turned hollow again as she tried to strike him, but he spun around her to get to the other side. He still refused to fight._

 ***the whole underground had been fighting to get back to the surface for eons… if you had listened to one single sentence from the echo flowers in waterfall, you'd know what i'm talking 'bout.**

 _She charged at him as he just took a step aside, so the kid wouldn't hit him._

"Why aren't you fighting? You are wasting your turns… If you really need to stop me, do it. I don't care. My objective IS killing everyone, including you."

 ***seems interesting. too bad i'm no fan of such tragedies. and dramas. i'm more of a science fiction guy.**

 _As he said that, he dodged yet another attack coming from her. She then got mad._

"You know what? I took step in this stupid world to make my world a little brighter. But this? This is just ridiculous. At least give me a fight! Not only that the monsters I fought weren't anything special as they were all the same to me anyways, the boss monsters also couldn't land a single hit one me!"

 ***maybe because they didn't want to.**

"Maybe because they were all WEAK. I'm trying to get a challenge. You are the only one who is yet to be defeated... you're the only obstacle. Your brother…"

 _Sans suddenly stopped, his back turned at the girl who could attack him any moment now. He still chose not to look at her. Not because he didn't want to, but just because he was too lazy._

"He was, however, the easiest of them all. He fell over like a dead tree. And turned to dust just like every other stupid-"

 _She flinched as bones appeared right behind her. Looking around herself, she realized Sans made an arena out of huge, thick bones which were impassable to both of them, thus trapping them. She suddenly got scared as the skeleton's pupils vanished again._

 ***you want a fight. you'll get one, kiddo.**

 _Without any warning, four blasters appeared in thin air and shot down at her, raising the dust off the ground as the blasts created explosions. The whole hallway lost its shine at that moment and everything seemed blurry. She soon regained her consciousness and looked up, only to see a single, blue glowing eye watching every of her movement. She shuttered as his grin widened. A huge Gaster Blaster was right next to him. Petting it, he was looking at the kid in pain._

 ***still standing, huh? too bad*** , his eye socket flashed blue, ***you'll make everything harder, chum, for both of us.**

 _A huge blast came out of the Gaster Blaster's mouth, but Frisk managed to roll away from it, so that it hit the ground. Soon, another blast came. Then another, then yet another. Frisk was running around in circles, trying to find the way out of the bone maze he seemingly prepared for her. As she was running, she could feel sins crawling on her back and sitting at her shoulders, making her running even harder. The skeleton suddenly lifted her soul up and pinned it to the ground, taking a massive amount of her HP. He then raised her up into the air, a pile of bones appearing right above her head. She quickly jumped down, but as she did, he pinned her to the wall to her left, throwing her into the bones that appeared at the side. To make the pain as quick as possible for her, he rapidly took her out of it with a swift hand movement, making her slam to the other side of the room. He then slammed her back at the ground and made a few Gaster Blasters appear ahead of her, every single one of them charging at her. She quickly got up and ran ahead, slid underneath the blaster and continued forward, only to be stopped by the skeleton which was just standing in front of her, smiling as he saw that the kid completely lost the will to fight. He didn't want to show her any mercy anymore, though. She had her chances multiple times, after all. Just to go by the rules, he let her move at her turn, although he avoided her attack pretty easily again. He didn't really want to see the shock in her eyes as she saw that he wasn't even tired from all of these attacks, but he couldn't help her at this point. He knew she was completely lost._

 ***okay. you survived turn three.**

 _She almost fell over when she heard that and he smiled, reminding himself at the time she was still a simple, naïve child. She completely changed at the time he didn't pay attention to her._

 _As she tried to strike him, he dodged and raised her into the air again, putting her on a tiny platform. He then sent countless bones at her. Seeing her dance around to dodge all his attacks was making his will to fight fade as well. As soon as he let her get down, she tried to attack, but failed again as he simply dodged by leaping backwards._

 ***this is why kids shouldn't do determination.**

"…Determination…?" _she silently asked, but he didn't plan on answering her. It was clear to him she was filled with it to end his, just like everybody else's, life._

 _He sent another few platforms to her to jump on them as three huge Gaster Blasters tried to blast her into oblivion. She leaped up and down to dodge their attacks which seemed to keep going forever. She survived those attacks and got down from the platforms, only to see that a huge wall of bones was keeping her from the skeleton which waved at her from the other side. He then smugly smiled as he pulled her soul towards himself, only to hit it into all the bones keeping them apart. She grabbed the huge bone and climbed up it to jump down at the skeleton, but he caught her mid-air and sent her flying towards another unavoidable pile of bones, but to make it fair, he quickly changed the scenario by teleporting to another location where the bones were already aligned so that she had to jump over them. She didn't even realize where she was at that point, so she ended up falling into the bones. He got her out and teleported to another location, just for her to half-close her eyes as she realized four Gaster Blasters were aiming at her. As she managed to avoid that, he took her to an empty room. She didn't have to wait long before four massive bones from each side appeared. They were impossible to dodge, but she still jumped up as he ended his attack turn. They were both out of breath, but as soon as she realized he was looking tired, she grinned and tried to hit him, but he smiled as he grabbed her soul and turned it into its normal, red color again. He then sent a dozen of perfectly aligned bones at her from each side, so she literally had to run in circles to dodge them. As soon as he ended his turn, she tried to slice him in half as she had enough of him, but the skeleton dodged her attack as he made another ten Gaster Blasters appear out of thin air. The blasters hit the kid multiple times, but she was still standing, although her clothes were all scratched, cut and dusty. She tried to hit him yet again. At this point, she was just trying to make him too tired to move. He, however, seemed just as determined to end the battle like she did. It was the moment when she realized she was really the bad guy and not the hero of the story after all. She suddenly felt her Attack drop._

 ***why even try…? i'd usually say. but… seeing how much you love swinging that thing around, i think it'll be everyone's pleasure if i do try for once, aren't i right?**

 _He sent another dozen of bones at her for her to jump over them. He knew she didn't have the power to do that, and he still didn't want to stop the battle at this point as well to teach her a lesson, so he secretly helped her get over them with his telekinesis._

 ** _*is that the reason? or do i still just want to be friends with a freakin' murderer?_**

 _She tried to slice him again, only for him to dodge. He was sweating up a storm, though. He then turned her soul blue and pinned her to the ceiling, so that she couldn't move. With his other hand, he bossed around a few bones which he all threw into the kid's direction. Frisk shut her eyes tightly, but opened them up as soon as she realized that the bones all hit the wall, instead of her. Before she could even think of getting down herself, he let her fall down to the ground. He narrowed his eye sockets and shrugged his shoulders._

 ***oh. should have practiced my aiming skills*** _, he said and winked at the kid who still hadn't lifted her head up at that point._

 ***ten turns in, kiddo. wanna keep this going on forever or…?**

"You can't dodge forever…"

 _As she wasted her turn, he raised her into the air and slammed her against the wall to her left, making bones appear from it, but she jumped off the wall and got to the other side which revealed to be pretty boney as well. He then let her down to fall into a pile of blue bones, making her HP drop to 0.00029. He then made hundreds of Gaster Blasters appear in the air and they all shot at her, but she stood up and started running into circles. The whole time he was doing this, he was judging himself why he grew so soft over the time, as she was someone who obviously never liked him or cared about him. At first, he thought of her as a good friend, but he realized it was only just his imagination playing a trick on him. Not knowing if it was even the first time he had seen her or was this happening for the hundredth time, his movements suddenly started to slow and less and less Gaster Blaster were chasing the lost kid. As soon as the blasters disappeared, he turned her soul blue again and raised her up into the air, throwing her at the ceiling. He then slammed her to the bottom, then at the ceiling, then left, then right, then back at the ceiling, repeating the process a few times before his movements suddenly slowed down, until he just slowly put her down, dealing no damage at all. She seemed to hesitate for a second, but she then ran up to him to strike him again, but he stepped a step back to dodge her attack and to do the math._

 ** _*…turn 24._**

 _He didn't move so she finally got to take air in, but as he was just standing for a long time, she looked at him to see him almost falling asleep. She was bruised, scratched, her clothes were torn and her cuts were bleeding. She then realized she had much less HP then one, so she figured he wasn't going all out on her after all. As much as she tried to, she couldn't understand why he was doing that. After everything she did, he still didn't want to get rid of her completely._

 ***congratz, kiddo. you made me use my special attack*** , he said after the break he made.

 _She looked around, but saw only him as he fell to the ground._

 ***nothing. literally nothing.**

 _She was staring at him. She couldn't move since she wasted her turn before, so she figured the skeleton was way smarter than she first thought him to be as he seemed to know the concept of turns. He was still smiling as he was facing the ground now, instead of her._

 ***i won't move… you won't move… nobody will move…*** he was saying as he was slowly closing his eye _sockets. She clenched her hands and just watched him sleep for a moment. The skeleton looked much different when asleep, as his smile soon faded. His skull was covered in dust and scratched at some parts, but this was because of the comb he'd usually carry around with himself. His shirt and hoodie were torn as well, and the hole in his clothing she made right at the start wasn't helping her feel any better. For some reason, she didn't want to do this anymore. She just wished she could give up and turn around the time. Clenching the knife in her hand, she approached him, breaking the simple rules of the game they were playing. She sliced and figured he'd dodge._

 ***heh, didja really think you would be able to-**

 _She sliced again. The skeleton's eye sockets were wide opened as he realized what just happened. He dodged the twenty fifth attack._

 ***huh,*** _he proudly smiled and shrugged his shoulders_ , ***seems like all those years of working myself to the bone finally paid off.**

She suddenly crashed to the floor, looking at the ground. Not even wanting to know what was up with her, he hugged her tightly to prevent her from escaping. He made a bone with a sharp end appear in his hand and pointed it at her back as she was resting her head against his chest, waiting for his strength to do it to show up. But nothing came, so he heavily sighed.

 ***i don't know why i'm bothering at this point… you'll restart anyways. what then? fight with you all over again? it's all pointless. the timelines ending and starting without us even knowing it… why did you do this? we co** uld have had… ***** his voice suddenly sounded differently, but she chose not to be bothered by it.

"What does… restarting mean…?"

At this sentence, he widely opened his eye sockets.

 ***wh-what do you mean with "what does restarting mean"?**

She remained silent and the skeleton's hand trembled.

 ***um… the thing you do to make your life eternal?**

Nothing came from her.

 ***the thing you do to turn back time?**

She slowly shook her head to make him know that she had no clue what he was talking about. Realizing that Frisk didn't know anything about the resetting and restarting, he didn't know what to do anymore.

 ***but every human is familiar with the concept of restarting!**

She shook her head again.

 ***…are you lost, kid? i mean… the real world has a button for everything… hasn't it…?**

"R-Real world…?"

His soul suddenly hurt and he stopped. She seemed to be so intrigued by the voices that were shouting in her head to finish the game that she lost the concept of time and space around her. The skeleton never knew such a thing was possible. If he should kill her at this point, she would never return because she obviously didn't know how to restart. All those weird timelines now finally made sense since they were only scratching the surface of non-existence. But should he spare her, she might be able to escape him and continue on with her plan on getting rid of every monster and human in the world. He figured she was just a lost soul searching for guidance at the wrong places. Naïve and childish, she was never taught to take care of herself.

"The flower once told me something…"

 ***what flower?*** he silently asked, still refusing to end this.

"The flower I once knew… He also told me that I'm not a hero…"

Sans didn't respond at that.

"He was right. Not everyone can be a hero… I'm just the player, aren't I?" she said and widely smiled at him, but he didn't seem happy to hear that.

 ***that flower whispered sweet lies to you all your life and you still trust him…?**

"Huh?" she asked and his smile got wider.

 ***from all the lies he probably told you this one's the biggest. of course not everyone is the hero… but not trying to be the hero is the biggest mistake anyone could make, y'know, bucko? everyone starts of as a simple player… but through many hardships and downfalls… and with much determination, you can always become a hero. you know?**

She nested her head in his shirt and slowly nodded. Not knowing what to do with her, he stabbed the bone into the ground and hugged her even tighter, his forehead touching her shoulder. He did that as he remembered his brother once told him people needed eight hugs a day to survive the harsh real life. At some degree, that hug was also meant for his deceased brother. She shuddered.

 ***knock knock.**

As he asked that, his soul started aching from the question if she was going to answer or not. The silence between them went on for five seconds, but to him, it seemed like it was an eternity. He was still scared of getting stabbed by her since the knife was still in her hand, but he suddenly had a strong urge to believe in her, just like his brother would do at this point. The dust around them was slowly disappearing, showing that the hallway had turned dark. He was barely keeping his eye sockets open, even though his life could literally have ended every passing second.

"Who's there…?" she silently asked, her eyes still looking lifeless. She didn't seem to be affected by his behavior at all.

 ***amish.**

His eye sockets were slowly closing as he had to wait for her respond again. But a hopeful melody was keeping him awake, just like the thought of his brother looking down on him. He smiled. If for no one else, he wanted to make the kid return being herself just for his brother. Just for Papyrus.

"Amish who…?"

She slowly opened her eyes as she heard what she just said. As he heard it, he softly smiled and waited a few seconds before responding to the teen, just like she kept him waiting for far too long. He then closed his eye sockets as his smile got somewhat smaller, but also sweeter.

 ***i miss you too, _frisk_.**

 ** _"Do it. FINISH it now. IT's your ChANCe. GO AheAD"_** , the voice in her head said and she slowly raised her trembling hand with the knife in it above his skull. But something was keeping her from attacking the small skeleton seemingly resting in her arms…


	23. Chapter 23

As he stepped through the door, he widely smiled. He didn't feel the cold strangling his weak, tired bones anymore, gripping him progressively harder as he was progressing through the harsh snow that was surrounding him before. It was all done now. He was practically home.

The warm light immediately greeted him by wrapping around his skeletal, injured arms. Although he had no nose, he could sense the scent of familiarity in the room. The nice, calming atmosphere made him close his eye sockets just for a moment, but he managed to keep himself from falling down. He didn't expect anyone to be here. He didn't _want_ anyone to be here.

Still, this timeline was completely messed up, so he had to see something else coming. He stopped every movement to look in front of himself, his smile somewhat lessening as he saw him still working there, all alone, in the dark. An aura of light was stretching across his lit face and his arms, as his sleeves were pulled up. Sans sighed as silently as possible, as pain struck his head.

 _ ***why would he still… work?**_

His soul suddenly ached and he figured it was because of the battle before. The weakened skeleton carefully pressed himself against the door to close it. He tried to, at least, before he almost collapsed to the floor. He managed to stay on his trembling feet, though, and he forcefully shut the door close and walked a few steps ahead to greet his friend who was nervously cleaning an already perfectly clear glass. But somewhere along the way, he stopped and just stared ahead of him. He wasn't able to move.

The bartender's flames were dim. He had been waiting for someone to show up the whole day. Anyone. But nobody came.

Until now. He looked ahead of himself with a glance of hope on his fiery face, seeing that his best customer decided to show up, even after everything that happened. After seeing the look on his face the last time, he felt something strange and rather worrying, but he was simply glad that he saw the short skeleton again. It had been days since then… But then it hit him.

The skeleton didn't look like he was supposed to.

His eye sockets had almost always had dark circles under them, but they seemed kind of swollen at this point. Like he was crying more than usual.

They were almost completely hollow, dull to say at least. The only vivid things in them were the tiny pupils in the sockets, flashing and appearing from time to time. Like they were struggling for and against life at the same time.

The wide, friendly smile that he wore on his face was more of a frown than a smile, and even though the skeleton tried to make it wide and bright again, his face just kept carving the frown into itself to replace the welcoming smile. Just like someone stole all of his happiness away by simply existing.

His nasal bone wasn't the usual heart shape any longer. It was cracked. Like someone tore his soul apart, and then tried to tear it up into pieces yet again, but, fortunately, failed.

He was sweating, although the bartender wasn't exactly sure if it even was sweat dripping down his eerie skull. Like he had just woken up from a long-lasting nightmare.

His head was lowered. Usually he'd look up into anyone's and everyone's eyes, if they had any, greeting them with no words. His head would be raised proudly, even though some monsters were multiple times taller than him. He never cared. But now, he didn't dare to look up. Like someone defeated the small part of him that still wanted to at least _look_ cheerful.

Grillby immediately looked away from him as he couldn't bear to look at the skeleton in a state like that, but he knew he couldn't just do nothing about it. Also, there was a part of him that wasn't entirely done with checking the skeleton's terrible state. He strongly clenched his hands into fists, his fire crackling as it was shakily dancing to the beat of serene silence. He came to work today expecting some kind of change, but if he knew this was coming towards him, he'd never come back. He'd never leave the safe lab Alphys had been keeping them in so they would stay safe. He wasn't ready for this today. He wasn't ready to see this any day, actually. The creepy look on the once cheerful-looking skeleton was piercing right through his soul. But he knew his friend was trying his best not to let anyone see him like this. Sometimes, he wondered why a monster like him would go on a suicidal mission like that and didn't stay back like the rest of them. 1 HP, 1 DF, 1 AT.

Sometimes, he wondered if Sans was still sane.

 _*…one of his dumbest ideas so far… and he has a self-sustaining tornado in his room.*_

Sometimes, he wondered if he was a little too overprotective.

Thinking about that, he looked back at the skeleton still standing at the same spot as before. His legs were trembling. Like he was running through hell to get here, trying to escape a nightmare he had previously seen only in his dreams.

He didn't even wear his hoodie, and his bare, skeletal arms were on display, scratched and dusty. They were awkwardly positioned left and right from his body as they were trembling as well. The hoodie seemed to have disappeared. Just like Sans' hopes a long time ago.

His clothes were torn and had strange marks all over them. Like someone chose him a long time ago to go through such pain.

Then he finally acknowledged something he had purposely been trying to avoid. There was a dark red stain covering his completely white shirt, suggesting something Grillby didn't want to believe.

 _*…blood?*_

The bartender's gaze suddenly fell at the bar in front of him. He swiftly put the glass away, sliding it towards the other ones, and took his glasses off. He got a tissue out of his pocket and shakily cleaned the glass, putting them back on. He figured he was not mistaken.

 _*….blood.*_

What seemed like an hour to him was just a few seconds from Sans' prospective. The skeleton then managed to force himself to smile up at the bartender.

 ***heya… grillbz. long time no see. still smokin', heh?*** the skeleton clearly had a bad time trying to think of puns at a time like this. Grillby suddenly started to shake and the small monster tilted his head.

 ***um… you ok there, buddy? you look kind of… burnt out.*** Grillby shivered at that. This time not because of the fact that the pun was terrible, but because Sans' voice was too weak even for him, and hoarse.

The bartender started throwing things around all of a sudden, presumably searching for something as the skeleton was just watching, his head still tilted. Sans wanted to tell him something, but soon forgot what, so he just waited on the same spot for Grillby to stop throwing bottles of all kinds of liquid around him. Sans had a hard time standing, though.

Grillby just hoped he wouldn't burn the whole bar down by accident or something. The bartender looked desperate, like he was about to break down every second. It was rather sad to watch, but Sans couldn't look away, for some reason, as the bartender looked like he was dancing around the bar in hopes of finding the thing he was looking for. The pain he himself felt wasn't exactly helping as well.

Sans flinched as Grillby suddenly stopped moving and just looked at him.

*…..

Grillby seemed like he wanted to say something, but decided not to. Sans widely smiled as he knew what his fiery friend wished to ask. He shrugged as his smile shattered right in front of the fire.

 ***it's… it's nothing.**

A small, worried smile got to his face again as he looked up at Grillby to find his flames getting smaller.

 ***r-really…**

Grillby's hands shook as they grabbed a wet towel, sizzling sounds coming from the fiery man's hands. He slowly walked towards the skeleton in pain, just like he was trying not to scare him away. There were a few instances in which the skeleton just ran away from him every time the bartender wanted to know more about the crazy stuff that Sans would usually talk about. The even crazier fact was that Grillby would actually believe every single word that came out of the skeleton's mouth. Sans never even expected of Grillby to actually listen to him, since it wasn't really part of his job, so he just kept telling him stories instead of Papyrus, sometimes. Papyrus would get offended, sometimes. And Sans would find it out, sometimes.

It hurt as he was clenching the towel in his hand, suddenly wondering why it wasn't going up in flames yet. Then he started thinking why his clothes weren't on fire yet. Then why the bar wasn't on fire yet.

Sans wanted to step away again, but couldn't. Instead, he fell flat towards the warm, wooden floor, but never reached it as two caring arms came at the right time to stop his fall, pulling him into an embrace. In a matter of seconds he found himself pressed against the bartender's chest, his eye sockets wide open.

It's not like he was dying or anything.

As he looked up, he saw that Grillby was trembling. His fire crackled louder and got dimmer again, a light shade of yellow replacing the burning orange and red. Sans' soul ached seeing him like this; he never wanted _anyone_ to see him like this.

 ***grillbz, i'm-**

The bartender's embrace got tighter and Sans felt his burning chin on his skull. The skeleton's shocked pupils wandered up to him, then back to himself, then back up, then at a random button on the man's shirt.

*…..

Sans smiled at Grillby's ability to smooth things out by simply saying a few words.

 ***it's noth-**

*I don't want you to leave*, Sans was surprised at how loud and clear the fire spoke, for once. Usually his voice would be too silent and sounded too much like fire's sizzling, so everyone had a hard time trying to understand what he said. But the voice that spoke to him now was soft. Warm. Kind. Caring. Scared. Spirited. Settled… and threatening.

His grip got tighter and Sans was scared of getting his shirt burnt. But then his mind just drifted off, wondering how his own clothing was still intact by all the fire magic surrounding it. Then he realized the answer was provided in his former thought.

*…we've... lost everything already…

Sans stayed silent as his eye sockets were slowly shutting close. The fire monster realized Sans' hands were unusually cold and his grip was loosening, so he pulled him even closer.

*I'm not losing anything… anymore.

 ***b-but…**

*I'm sick of it.

Sans felt his magic slowly evaporating.

*you're my best friend… and I…* Grillby's flames suddenly burnt brighter and Sans flinched again as he got picked up.

*…..

*…..I don't want to…

*…I think…

*…..

*….I...-

 ***hey.**

He looked down at the small skeleton in his hands. He was too fragile for this world after all. Sans' smile appeared on his face again, his eye sockets half-closing in a chilled manner.

 ***i know we're kinda in an emotional moment, but… um… would you mind cleaning the ketchup off me…? i sort of have business after all this is done, so…*** he pointed at each of them a few times before turning his sight away from the monster that was carrying him and coughed.

Grillby remained silent.

 ***…sorry.**

Sans felt the bar's temperature rising and saw Grillby's shoulders tensing. The bartender's temperature went up so much, in fact, that the tips of his flames burnt in a blue hued color.

*…..ketchup…

 ***yeah. ketchup. of course, you know me! i always steal from you and i keep them in…*** Sans' eye sockets widened when he finally realized. His smile suddenly turned wider than ever as he looked up at the bartender, ***wait a sec. did you think that it's…**

Grillby was silent as his eyes were getting narrower. At least that's what Sans thought as he couldn't actually see his eyes, if he even had those. Sans' huge smile wasn't helping in any way. The usual, chipper atmosphere was slowly returning, although no monster except them existed in that location of the underground.

 ***you actually thought it was blood!**

Grillby's head sunk a bit as his flames burnt brighter. Just a few more feet before they'd reach the ceiling. Sans suddenly started to shake from laughter, but as he tried to laugh he just ended up coughing and gripping his shirt on the spot where his Soul was supposed to be located.

Grillby was losing his patience as Sans' laugh didn't subside even though he could literally die from laugh in his state. He looked like he was slowly dying too.

 ***you… you totally fell for it!**

Grillby flinched and his fire seemed to stop dancing for a brief moment. Something in his chest hurt a little bit more than he wished to admit. He then wished he could just drop the skeleton out of his arms and make a pun about falling himself, but he was still too nice to do that and Sans was still in a terrible shape, after all. Sans didn't seem to notice anything weird on Grillby's expression and just kept laughing like a madman, pressing his arms against his inexistent stomach. Grillby nodded multiple times, trying hard not to kill them both by burning the whole place down.

 ***and you were about to-**

His joke was interrupted by Grillby's famous 'death stare' which he almost never used, unless he absolutely had to, like when customers got into a fight, spilled something on top of him or were just too clingy. They'd end up literally flying out of the bar, falling face first into the cold snow. Then it hit him. Sans had done all three of those and just smiled as wide as he possibly could. Awkward silence was filling up the area around him.

 ***boy, is it hot in here or-**

Grillby's stare intensified and Sans realized the overused pun wouldn't get him anywhere, so he shut his big mouth and crossed his aching arms.

 ***fire puns, though.**

Grillby threw him over his shoulder, much to Sans' surprise and annoyance, and carried him to one of the seats. He then sat down himself and let the skeleton go so he'd fall down on the seat and sink into it. Sans landed on top of his head, but his entire weight sunk into the couch anyways, so it didn't really matter. That's the exact reason why Grillby chose never to replace the saggy old seats. For some reason, he smirked and pressed the wet towel against Sans' forehead, a little too violently for it not to be on purpose. Sans' smile intensified.

There was silence for a brief moment, but as soon as Grillby looked back at him, the skeleton covered his face with one of his hands and proudly continued talking.

 ***i brought her back. it was her idea to spread the ketchup all over me too. heh. she's the greatest, i tell ya.**

Grillby tilted his head, but seemed to realize whom he was talking about soon as his flames shook a bit.

 ***as you can see, it was… quite the… uh, fight… but.**

Grillby nodded and secretly wished Sans would just give up trying to hide his ugly wounds.

 ***she's really something else.**

*…..yes*, Grillby nodded, unwillingly.

 ***i've told you already, haven't i?**

Grillby nodded and suddenly stood up, rushing towards the bar. Sans' gaze was following him as he was quickly moving around. His eye sockets suddenly narrowed as he was looking up, trying not to think of how terrible he must have looked at the moment. He looked at his shaking hand, trying to unsee the kid's blood he had on it earlier.

 ***…i broke my promise, grillbz*** , he said after a long time.

Something in the back crashed at that moment and Sans looked towards the last monster friend he had, seeing how he was picking something up, slowly. He did notice the fire man's peek at him, however.

 ***i told the 'old lady who' i was going to watch her… protect her… walk alongside her. even if it led to absolute destruction. but… i didn't do that. i just kinda got along with her, tried to keep her safe and dry through waterfall. from the flower i may or may not have told you about, who knows… and then i just kinda broke, you know? when i found out she was killing everybody in her way.**

The sound of Grillby picking up the fallen object faded, but Sans could see he was still on the floor with peripheral vision. Sans smiled.

 ***when i found out papyrus was gone…*** a tear appeared in his right eye socket, but he immediately brushed it away.

 ***when i got there, trying to stop her from attacking… trying to… get her power level, which is actually over 8000, by the way, to sink or something… i couldn't stop myself.**

Sans went silent and managed to sit up after a few failed attempts. His vision was blurry and he was dizzy, but he tried to hide it. He also hid his face in his arms which were placed at the table. He soon heard Grillby approach him, the temperature around him slowly rising as he got closer.

*I… can see that.

Sans smiled.

 ***heh. i fought her. almost… almost killed her,*** the skeleton shrugged, ***man. me and promises, dude.**

After a long period of silence, Sans heard something being pushed towards him, so he carefully raised his head so Grillby didn't have to see him like that. In front of him, there were french fries covered in ketchup. He was pretty sure Grillby spilled a whole bottle of ketchup on it, so he widely smiled as his hands shakily got to the meal his friend offered him. Still, he looked up to meet his glasses.

 ***grillbz… i can't take it any longer. i'm… flat out broke.**

He was pretty sure Grillby smiled at that.

*I know that… not only in one, but in two senses.

Sans stared at him.

*you have to eat something, friend. you might haven't lost that one hp, somehow, but you seem to have lost a whole lot of your magic… no tab. it's all going to reset anyways, right…?

Sans sweetly smiled at that. For once, he liked the sound of 'reset'.

 ***i sure hope so, buddy*** , he silently said, smiling.

Sans then stared at the fries placed in front of him for a while. If his whole body didn't hurt like he came out of a trash compactor, he would have jumped for joy. But now all he could do was barely smile. He found it funny how much damage the sudden magic loss did to him. He never thought using magic after ten years of doing absolutely nothing would almost get him killed. He then realized he got lost in thought as Grillby asked: *sans?

 ***h-huh?*** the skeleton asked and looked at the fire sitting across the table. His arms were crossed, so were his long legs, and his head was tilted.

*why did the chicken… cross the road…?

Sans smiled. It hurt, but he did it anyways.

 ***why.**

*to get to the town idiot's residence.

Sans just stared for a while before Grillby leaned forward, softly grabbing the skeleton's skull to make him reveal his wounds. Sans realized that the fire monster's hand flinched for a moment, but he smiled and looked at the fries again. He appreciated the trial.

*knock knock.

 ***who's there?**

*…the chicken*, Grillby said and watched Sans' smile get bigger progressively. The skeleton soon looked at him shyly as Grillby continued, *what were you thinking…?

 ***knock knock*** , the skeleton responded and Grillby sighed as silently as possible. He then removed the hand from the skeleton's head, seeing that Sans wasn't about to hide again. The bartender threw himself at the back of the seat and planted his forehead in his right hand.

*…who's there…?

 ***interrupting sans.**

Grillby slowly removed his hand from his forehead, slamming it at his thigh.

*interrupting sans who?* the bartender silently asked as he watched the skeleton's smile widen across his face.

Sans waited half a minute before actually responding. The bartender was meanwhile nervously tapping the table they were sitting at, wondering why he even bothered waiting anymore and why he even _was_ friends with the skeleton at the first place.

Sans then responded in the slowest fashion as possible, slowly leaning forward as his eye sockets were narrowing: ***ssssaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnsssssssss.**

Grillby's hand was pressed against his face the whole time during that.

*…stalling for time?

 ***nope. just wanted it to be a little random. don't want to bore my audience to death.**

*well. you're not boring me to death. you're annoying me.

Sans looked away for a while, hiding the fact that he wasn't talking about him. He then took a fry drenched in ketchup and ate it.

 ***i thought i could save her.**

*sans…

 ***and i did.**

*…

 ***she could have killed me, when i fell down on my knees and gave up completely. she could have turned me to dust easily while i was hugging her on the floor, believing that papyrus was watching me from afar. she could have… but she didn't.**

*…

 ***she threw the knife away and proceeded… to cry. she cried up a storm, i tell ya. wouldn't wanna be you on my place, buddy. she couldn't stop crying and saying: "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i was so dumb, i'm sorry". and then i realized… she really was. it was just like the old kid i knew came back. because she did,*** he sweetly smiled and closed his eye sockets for a moment before his smile almost faded as he looked away, ***i did think of beating her up when she spared me…*** he smiled wider again, ***but the timeline's all kinds of messed up, so i figured she wouldn't get dunked on. no dunks were given that day…**

*…

 ***so i told her, "let's go to grillby's'". but she refused. but i insisted. but she refused. but i-**

*…get to the point.

 ***we walked all the way back, from the king's castle to, well, here… yes. WALKED.**

*…?!

He saw Grillby's flame go up as he heard that Frisk came back. Grillby was obviously terrified. Sans slowly raised his hands to calm him down.

 ***hey, hey… it's fine. she's alright. she won't step foot into the diner. since i told her not to, after she started mocking me for… she's in a safe place. close to our home. hidden in-**

*is she in your secret lab everybody knows about but stays silent about it anyways?

Sans' eye sockets went blank as he stood up on his shaking legs. Grillby got alarmed and leaped up as well, but the skeleton raised a hand to let him know that he'll be fine.

His friend's smile popped up again and he looked up at him, his eye sockets full of reassurance.

 ***i'm fine. but she might not be. and someone needs to check on her, right…? i still gotta… still gotta care about the kid. she's… not a bad person. just… completely lost.**

*…

Sans tried to put his hands into his pockets, but realized he had no, so he just awkwardly crossed them again. Grillby's flames got a little less intense.

 ***…might as well spill the beans here*** , Sans sighed.

Grillby just waited for him to pull out a can of beans and spill them in front of him, but got happy as soon as he realized Sans wasn't about to do so.

 ***i put her in there… so she'd see the thing i've been working on for a long time… it's… kinda wild. traveling to the past, i mean. it doesn't work yet, but… she is willing to give me some of the power she possesses. called determination… not important right now. neither is why i have this machine. what is important, is that we'll get to the solution by working together… and then we'll travel back in time, to prevent all of this from happening. so that i'll see pap, you'll see your customers and… all of the monsters can get their families back… and their happiness too. i know, kind of farfetched.**

Grillby gave him a slow, determined nod and Sans' smile got huge. He was fascinated by the fact that Grillby took all in at once, not questioning him in the slightest. He then wondered if Grillby cherished him that much or if he was plain dumb, but chose to go with the first one, just to make himself feel better.

 ***welp. see ya later… then… or earlier, i guess*** , he said after they just stood there looking at each other for a while. Grillby nodded.

The skeleton limped over to the door, fries in his hand. Just before the hurt skeleton opened the door, Grillby called out to him. The skeleton happily turned around to look at him.

*sans.

 ***yeah?**

*in the next timeline…

 ***…yeah?**

*you won't escape the tab, though.

Sans' smile intensified.

 ***ya. we'll see about that,** _ **hothead**_ **. if i start runnin', you might not ketchup to me.**

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

 ***heya, kid. got you some…*** he stopped as he saw the child sobbing on the floor, her back leaned against the machine hidden beneath an old cloth, in the corner of the room. His smile got bigger.

 ***oh, come now. stop being so depressed*** , the depressed skeleton stated and came to sit next to her as she was wiping the tears off her face. She didn't say a thing.

 ***how many times do i have to tell you? if good ol' sans here doesn't beat you to a pulp, you're fine, okay? so stop worrying. you'll be the only one to remember what happened, so…**

"I still don't have a clue what to do…" she silently stated as the skeleton came to sit right next to her, a reassuring smile on his face, "If I knew how to do that, I would have restarted weeks ago!"

He nudged her a bit and smiled wider.

 ***don't be so blue, kiddo*** , after these words, he took his hoodie back from her, ***everything's going tibia k. here. the drenched fries think so too. grillbz made them just for ya.**

Frisk peeked at the fires, but decided not to touch them since everything was full of red sauce.

"…So… he doesn't really like me."

 ***i mean…*** Sans said and stuffed a bunch of them into his mouth, ***you kinda killed most of his customers, so i wouldn't really blame him…**

"I'm a terrible person."

Sans slowly blinked.

"And then I even mocked you… And then I tried to… and then…" she was saying in tears as the skeleton rolled his pupils and sighed.

"And I was a selfish jerk and didn't think about anyone else except from myself just because I loved the feeling I got… but I hate it now! I hate it so, so much! I don't wanna feel it again!"

 ***never again?**

"Never ever again!" she cupped her face as she shook her head widely, suddenly looking like a small child, "never ever never ever never ever! Never!" she shouted repeatedly as Sans continued to watch her.

 ***no?**

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, no, no, nope! No!"

 ***okay. glad that's out of the way.**

"And then I killed my best friend! And my other best friend! And my favorite friend! And my-"

She was pulled into a hug and got her hair messed up by his boney hand.

 ***you're such an idiot.**

Frisk suddenly got silent at that and he wondered if he said something wrong. After a while, she raised her head to look up at him.

"Who is Chara…?"

At the mention of that name, his pupils got lost in his dark eye sockets. Frisk could tell he was getting nervous all of a sudden, his grip tightening. Still, he soon smiled again as his pupils reappeared.

 ***s-someone not worth mentioning…**

"But Flowey told me they were someone really special and I think he mistook me for that kid… He kept confusing our names from the start, but I never really thought about it till I… I…" her voice shook.

The skeleton suddenly stood up and looked at the machine in front of him. He then slowly approached it.

 ***you did what you did. screw the past. you can't live in more than one point of life, kiddo. trust me, i've tried.**

Something within him resonated.

Frisk was silent for a while as the small skeleton got the cloth off the machine to reveal something that looked like a capsule with flashing lights around it. She knew that he wasn't really doing anything he did at this point for her, but for himself, but she understood completely. After all, she did some terrible things as a minion to someone that wasn't worth mentioning. The skeleton stumbled, but he straightened immediately. She didn't give it much thought, considering the intensity of his magic attacks earlier. She knew he was way too easy-going to handle it well.

 ***flowey is just… someone as lost as you are, bucko. but he doesn't have something you have… a soul. he can't really feel, champ. he is just… an empty shell. wasn't always like that, i heard. but that's another story which i can't tell. since i'm uninformed. and lazy. the point is that you can't blame him for being like that… evil, i mean. i know he tricked you into all of this, but… he, at least, has an excuse. now, you don't. you have a soul and know others have feelings. still, you betrayed us all*** , he smiled and turned around as he leaned at the machine, seeing the kid look at him with a surprised expression on her face, ***but you, unlike him, learned your lesson and you won't do it again. he will. he can't be helped anymore…**

"But he still has-"

 ***don't sweat it, kid. some things just… disappear without a trace, sometimes… and you never know how and why. then you start forgetting them…*** he was looking at the machine as he was saying that, making Frisk curious. He saw her bouncy movement and turned around just enough to see her in the corner of his eye socket.

"Why do you always go to Grillby's?"

He didn't expect that question, but he felt relieved.

 ***oh. it's warm there. and the place has food, ketchup, friends.**

Frisk's smile suddenly got wider and he knew something was about to go down.

 ***dogs. drinks. ketchup.**

"You know what I think?" her voice suddenly sounded like a little, playful child's.

 ***talks. jokes. ketchup.**

"You…"

 ***warm seats… have i mentioned ketchup yet…?**

"Have…"

 ***no, but seriously. did i?*** he kept fantasizing about his beloved ketchup and grabbed the fries again.

"A crush. On him."

Sans' eye sockets got half-closed as he heard that. His arms drooped as he turned to face her.

 ***….really, kid…?**

She was smiling victoriously, her eyes closed tightly from the huge, cheesy smile on her face.

 ***wow. that was… unexpected. and plain infantile.**

She was still smiling at him with the same expression on her face.

 ***but sadly, you got it wrong*** , he said while looking kind of annoyed.

"Then why are you blushing?" she asked and the skeleton's smile faded as the joke went a little bit too far. At least he hoped for her statement to be a joke. He wasn't blushing. Suddenly, he pressed his hand against his forehead as he bent over and grabbed a hold on the capsule next to him. He looked like he was in terrible pain, so Frisk immediately stood up and ran over to him, trying to get him to reopen his eye sockets. But nothing happened.

He suddenly imagined the picture Papyrus drew once upon a time in front of his sight before passing out.

* * *

 ***ugh… wha- what happened…?*** he asked as he slowly got up, opening one of his eye sockets. With one hand on his forehead and the other in his hoodie, he managed to find his balance and took a few steps ahead. He didn't know why he felt a sense of familiarity as he was walking down a seemingly endless, dark hallway.

Suddenly, he heard static and pressed his hands against the ears he didn't have. He bent a little and looked down at the floor, seeing some liquid dripping from his head, but as he tried to feel the liquid, it vanished. What appeared in front of him, though, was much more worrying than some kind of random liquid dripping from him.

A shady, tall figure stood there, the figure's straight posture making him know that the person in front of him had to be of great importance. However, the person kept vanishing and reappearing time after time, and Sans was scared to move forward. But something was keeping him from going back. This time it wasn't an invisible, evil force, but was something he didn't feel for a long time.

Pure dread.

He suddenly gasped and the figure looked back at him, revealing a crack on its head. Suddenly, it spoke to him. It spoke in a deep, clear voice, chilling Sans to the bone. The words the figure said were nothing like he was used to hear from others, but for some strange reason, he understood everything completely.

 ***** _ **YOU**_ _ **TRIED**_ _ **.**_

Sans was silent as he kept staring forward.

 _ ***AND FAILED. FAILED HORRIBLY.**_

Sans' whole body froze as he heard that. He didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

 _ ***DIDN'T YOU WANT TO… SAVE SOMEONE…?**_

Sans' eye sockets squinted.

 ***uh… no?**

 _ ***THE CORRECT ANSWER IS YES. HEH… HA HA. NOT EVEN CAPABLE OF ANSWERING A SIMPLE QUESTION… Really… I am the one to BLAME.**_

Sans' smile intensified as he saw the monster's long, skeletal hands rise into the air. The black robe the figure was wearing glitched for a moment, before stabilizing. The figure then quickly turned around to show its face to the small skeleton, revealing a skull with two cracks on each side, one from the top to the eye socket, whilst the other crack connected the left eye socket with his mouth which was wide open. He looked plain creepy.

 ***okay there… bud… i still have some business to do… errands to errand. stuff. i'll be on my way. and no worries, i'll show myself the way out and- ugh!*** the skeleton yelped as the figure found himself next to Sans in a flash, grabbing his skeletal hand and rising him up into the air to meet their eye sockets. Sans' eye suddenly glowed blue and he couldn't control it. He struggled to break free as the figure's free hand was slowly approaching his face, but he couldn't break free. The skeletal hand with a hole in it and very long fingers suddenly stopped moving forward and Sans flinched.

 _ ***STRONG… BUT OH, SO TERRIBLY WEAK.**_

 ***hey. who you callin' weak?*** the skeleton responded and dumbly smiled as he saw that the figure wasn't pleased with the skeleton's nag, ***i mean, you haven't seen me in battle, mister.**

He realized the same kind of black liquid was dripping out of the figure's mouth, so he made a disgusted face and leaned away.

 _ ***I SEE EVERYTHING. I HEAR EVERYTHING. I KNOW EVERYTHING. I AM HERE, BUT I AM NOT.**_

 ***just get to the point.**

 _ ***EVERYTHING AROUND ME GETS DARK. DARKER… YET DARKER EVERY SECOND…**_

 ***sure thing.**

As he said that, he flinched since the achromatic monster out his index finger over Sans' mouth.

 _ ***YOU ARE WEAK. NOT IN BATTLE. 1 DEFENSE, 1 ATTACK. ALMOST NO HOPE… BUT I COULDN'T CARE LESS. YOU ARE FRAIL. I AM POSITIVE OF THAT. YOU ARE WEAK IN YOUR SOUL. YOUR ABILITY TO HURT SOMEONE… IT WAS NEVER SOMETHING YOU AND YOUR BROTHER TRIED TO ACCOMPOLISH, WAS IT…?**_

 ***how do you…?**

 _ ***STILL. I AM NOT IN REGRET BECAUSE OF THIS… I AM IN REGRET BECAUSE YOU HAVE TOLD SECRETS WHICH WEREN'T MEANT TO BE TOLD, YOU HAVE DEVELOPED QUITE I LIKING FOR THE CHILD THAT HAS MUREDRED ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS… AND YOU STILL FORGIVE HER. AND YOU HAVE FAILED TO SEARCH FOR ME. YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN, ALTHOUGH YOU PROMISED NOT TO. YOU ARE A FAILURE, SANS.**_

Sans suddenly started shaking as he realized what and who the figure in front of him was. The figure's grip tightened and Sans could feel his HP slowly lessening. The figure got dangerously close to his face and tilted his head, his eye sockets filling up with black liquid.

 _ ***A SIMPLE FAILURE… HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND… I TINY FRACTION OF ME BELIEVED I WAS STILL ALIVE IN YOU, IF NOT IN THE WORLD OF EXISTNACE… SEEMS LIKE I'V BEEN MISTAKEN… again. To think I could have created something that was not forgetful. Something that was not… a huge mistake.**_

A huge Gaster blaster appeared out of thin air and Sans froze. Then, the blaster fired.


	24. Chapter 24

After the shot the Gaster Blaster fired at him, he could feel his HP rapidly and painfully dropping. He feared the worst, but he was relieved as soon as he realized he was, in fact, still alive. Somehow, somewhat. The hand of the man who spoke in hands gripped his wrist tighter as he raised him even higher. The scared, small skeleton reopened his eye sockets to catch yet another look at the monster in front of him. Black liquid was still dripping from his mouth, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. The skeletal, creepy figure in front of him then slowly reached for Sans' glowing blue pupil. Sans, too weakened to struggle, didn't move an inch and just clenched his teeth as the figure's long, pointy index phalanx bone got in contact with his eye glowing for hope and help. Yet nobody came, again.

* _ **AH… YES. THAT THING…***_ the skeletal figure said as he released a soft chuckle which seemed to pain him more than hearing that voice laugh, _***I REMEMBER THAT DAY… I BESTOWED THIS UPON YOU…***_ he chuckled again as his creepy smile shifted, coughing away the black, dripping liquid as Sans just hang out of his hand in shock, _***YOU DID NEVER REPAY ME.**_

Sans suddenly gasped as he came to reality. The person in front of him had no intention of killing him whatsoever. He could feel enormous magic power radiating from him, but the man chose to spare him. He was not sure if he'd be better off alive, though. Not with the figure in front of him carrying that devilish smile on his cheekbones. For some reason the smile he had was scaring him and engulfing him in happiness at the same time. The ecstatic feeling of incomprehensible trust and joy, and on the other hand, the dreadful feeling of intuition and horror was lurking in the skeleton's soul. But he just couldn't figure out what it meant.

 _ ***RIGHT NOW I SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING IT… AND WHO KNOWS…? MAYBE I'LL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO FULFILL MY DREAM…?**_

Sans' careful sight returned to the creepy image in front of him. His cracked, lifeless eyes started leaking and the tears dropped down to the floor, right below Sans' feet. Sans was focused on the man in front of him and didn't pay any attention to his surroundings, though. He squinted his eye sockets and the figure's smile got wider as he tilted his head left, causing another few glitches to appear around him.

 _ ***YOU FEEL SOMETHING. DO YOU NOT…?**_

Sans couldn't look away from the thing lurking above him, staring into his eye sockets like there was nothing else to look at. For some reason, he wished to believe the person in front of him was as intrigued as himself. But he quickly shook off the feeling as a black tear dropped at his nasal bone. As he looked at it, the cracks around it disappeared. He flinched in surprise and yelped as he tried to struggle, but he couldn't move. Soon, he gazed into the empty eye sockets of the monster in front of him. There was nothing in them at all, but Sans could swear he had seen a familiar glimpse in them, for a moment. But his head failed to recognize anything, as usual. The creepy atmosphere around them intensified as the figure got closer to his face, the small skeleton flinching yet again. The terrified look on his face made the figure glitch again.

 _ ***WHAT'S THAT… A FEELING LIKE…***_ the man dressed in achromatic pulled out the light of his eye socket as he stared right at him, a cold feeling running down the small monster's spine. He had never known his magic was so easily removable. Actually, he thought it was impossible to remove someone's magic that way without killing him in an instant. But he was still there, staring at the small piece of magic he now didn't posses anymore.

 _ ***DREAD OF THE INEVITABLE.**_

The temperature in the room suddenly fell as the mysterious person in front of him gripped the light in his hand. It was still visible through the hole in the person's hand, though, but the person chose to ignore that. Sans felt his soul cracking up.

 _ ***THE ADMIRATION FOR ONE'S MAGIC LEVEL… WHILST SOMEONE ELSE HAS JUST 1 HP IN TOTAL…**_

Sans suddenly started struggling to prevent himself from falling asleep. As much as he loved sleep, he knew he wouldn't wake up if he chose to take a nap at that moment. He had to get his magic back, but the only thing he could manage was wiggle.

 _ ***THE DESIRE TO KNOW WHAT YOU DID WRONG IN YOUR YOUNG PAST…**_

He sighed in defeat as his eye sockets were slowly closing.

 _ ***THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW, DEAR SANS…***_ he said as he got his pointy fingers under Sans' chin to make him look up, forcing him to look at his right hand that the shady figure was holding up. What he saw was a hole appearing on his palm, much like the holes on the person's skeletal hands. His soul shook, but he couldn't really react to that as his head finally drooped, making the figure's wide smile disappear for a brief moment. He swiftly put the magic back where it belonged and let the skeleton fall down on the floor. He then crossed his arms on his back, slowly walking away in a sinister fashion. Little did he know that right behind him, there was a Gaster Blaster pointing directly towards him. He suddenly heard the charge and stopped as he got directly hit. Right behind him stood the small skeleton, his legs trembling in fear and weakness. There were a few drops of determination on the side of his skull as he was breathing heavily, a wide smile on his pale face. His eye sockets were widely opened as he saw that the blast actually hit the man that looked like everything aimed towards him would just phase right through his decaying, glitching body. Sans then released a soft chuckle.

 ***dunked on*** , he proudly stated as he managed to straighten, but his smile soon completely faded as he saw the damage it did to the tall skeleton in front of him.

1 HP.

That's all damage his strongest blast could do. 1 HP.

Sans stood there in agony, wondering if this all was just a cruel prank being played on him. But he suddenly remembered there was no one who could pull that kind of joke on him now that everybody was... gone.

Even though he didn't see the man from the front, he was positive that the wide, skull-cracking smile of his increased in size. The particles that his body was made out of shook for a while, glitching everything around him again.

 _ ***YOU STILL HAVE TO WORK ON THAT… If you ahd worked at all, you'd even be able to…**_

The slender figure wished to walk off, but Sans' sudden voice made him stop moving completely.

 ***you're not supposed to be here, are you?**

The figure swiftly turned around, tilting his cracked skull. There was no smile adorning his cracked face anymore. At this moment, he looked plain sad. Sans' eye sockets narrowed at the man who instead of speaking, just glitched again.

 ***you're not supposed to exist.**

He tilted his head on the other side as he seemed to have picked up Sans' quick conclusion.

 ***that cold void we are located in. the lack of color and vividness in you. the particles trying to escape your destroyed body.**

The small skeleton straightened again and stuffed his hands into his pockets with swift, elegant movement. The void in the figure's eye sockets stared back into Sans' empty eye sockets. Neither of them had a happy-looking mask on their face any longer.

 ***those cracks on your skull, the holes in your hands, you don't have much magic left. you are falling apart, but still exist, somehow*** , Sans silently said, holding up his index finger and thumb before slamming them against his chin, ***this isn't real. A mere proje** ction, is it not?

The creepy figure's smile appeared again as the skeleton's voice cracked. This time, it wasn't artificial though, and the cracks of his skull got even deeper and bigger.

 _ ***YOU LEARN FAST, FOR AN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED LIFE FORM.**_

Sans forced a small smile at the tall skeleton which was bending over to have a better look at Sans. The small skeleton had no idea what the man in front of him meant by saying that, but he chose to take this as a compliment. He wasn't sure if anyone could get any better compliments out of the likes of him. The figure that looked like he was dragging all the void and light behind him started to leave again, but Sans didn't have the intention to stay alone, so he followed him.

As the man with missing pieces of himself was walking towards literal nothingness, he sensed the young skeleton walking behind him. He looked aside.

 ***what are you?**

Those words made his soul that was falling apart stop for a moment as he glitched again. He didn't stop walking away, though, and the skeleton skipped to catch up to him.

 ***hey. it's rude to ignore people's questions.**

The small skeleton looked at the figure's crossed arms on his back. Specifically, on the holes that were in them. He then looked at his right hand. He had the same hole in it, just a smaller version of it. Sans then looked up again as his sight went to the crack on the shadowy person's right side.

 ***…who are you…?**

The figure just kept walking, but Sans could feel the unease of the atmosphere around him.

 ***do i know you…?**

 _ ***I HAVE NO INTENTION OF ANSWERING ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS. THEY ARE NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHATSOEVER. BEGONE.**_

 ***yeah, but you said that i-**

The figure suddenly turned around to look at the small skeleton, his bright pupils piercing through the little part of his soul he still contained.

 _ ***I FIND IT MIND-BOGGLING THAT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, CURIOSITY SHOWS UP IN YOU FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN SAUCES, SCIENCE, POOR TASTE OF LAUGHING MATTER, DOORS AND EXOTHERMIC CHEMICAL PROCESSES OF RAPID OXIDATION OF UNKNOWN MATERIA.**_

Sans seemingly didn't want to respond to that at first as he looked on the floor, but then looked up at the tall figure's eye sockets.

 ***not my only interests. …and i can still** _ **crack**_ **a good pun or two.**

Sans widely smiled at the figure who just frowned at his statement and continued wandering around the seemingly endless void. Sans was slowly following him, trying not to look like he was interested in what was happening around him.

 ***hey. you brought me here. means you need somethin'. so just spill the beans.**

The figure in front of him hoped Sans wouldn't spill any beans into the void and when some time passed, he was just glad he didn't.

 _ ***I WANTED TO DISCUSS SOME MATTERS ABOUT THE CHILD THAT YOU CARE FAR TOO MUCH ABOUT.**_

 ***uh… how do-**

 _ ***I TOLD YOU ALREADY. I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOUR FOOTSTEPS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. FOLLOWING YOU WHEN NOBODY SAW. LISTENED WHEN NOBODY KNEW. I WAS ALWAYS THERE. AROUND YOU ALL. MY ATOMS THAT SHATTERED ACROSS TIME AND SPACE COLLECT THE DATA, BRINING IT BACK TO ME. SOMETIMES I EVEN COME IN MY FULL FORM TO WATCH ON YOU AS YOU PROGRESS…***_ he stopped explaining as he heard Sans chuckle, _***WHAT?***_ he grumpily asked as he looked back at the small skeleton, bending over to take a better look at him.

 ***heh… n-nothin'… just imagining you, like, hangin' around me while i do random stuff… like… like when i drink cappuccino in the morning, and you're actually in the liquid…**

The figure's eye sockets somehow narrowed as he frowned at the skeleton chuckling at his own weird thoughts. He sighed.

 _ ***…CUTE.**_

They continued walking, Sans casually pacing ahead with his hands in his pockets. There was silence for a long time before Sans asked again.

 ***…why?**

The figure in front of him stopped as he stopped as well.

 ***why would you go to such an extent to actually waste that little power you still have to watch over me…?*** he asked and felt somehow strange. As the figure turned around, Sans realized that he didn't feel the dread he felt before while looking at him. Dark liquid dropped from his eye socket again, his smile lessening. An odd sense of familiarity struck his soul as he was looking at the decaying creature in front of him, trying to realize what it was. Rather, who it was. The figure suddenly turned around and started walking again, so Sans stumbled after him.

 _ ***YOU SHOULD HAVE WOKEN UP, BY NOW.**_

 ***why?**

 _ ***THERE'S THINGS WE ARE MEANT TO KNOW, AND THINGS WE AREN'T.**_

 ***it's i-**

 _ ***YOU SHOULD JUST FORGET.**_

Sans stopped and the figure soon slowed down as he realized that the small skeleton wasn't following him anymore. He slowly looked back, but remained facing the opposite direction, soon turning his back on him again.

 _ ***HUMANS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THIS WORLD. IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO RESET, OR TO REMEMBER WHEN THEY DO SO. NO, IT IS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND COMPASSION THEY HAVE. THEIR SOULS ARE TAINTED. CRACKED. FILLED WITH SADNESS AND GRIEF. WITH FEROCITY AND ANGER. FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN… AND HATE FOR THE UNKNOWN. INABILITY TO REALIZE THE HORRORS THEY HAD INFLICTED UPON OTHERS. I'VE SEEN IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. THEY COME. THEY LEAVE THE RUINS. THEY MURDER. NOT BECAUSE OF SELF-DEFENSE. IT IS BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO LET GO OF SOMETHING THEY COULD FIND OUT, IF THEY ARE PROVIDED WITH EVEN THE SLIGHTEST POSSIBILTY. THEY YEARN FOR KNOWLEGDE. FOR POWER. FOR CHALLENGES.**_

Sans didn't respond to that, so the figure sighed and continued.

 _ ***I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. 'THIS HUMAN IS DIFFERENT. SOMETHING ELSE. THEY WON'T BE LIKE THE OTHERS WHICH HAVE FALLEN DOWN. STRONGER IN FIGHTS, BUT ALSO IN THE MIND'. I'VE HEARD THOSE VOICES OF YOURS IN MY HEAD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BUT THE TRUTH IS; THIS CHILD IS STILL A HUMAN. A MURDERER. AND THEY WON'T STOP NOW, TRUST ME. EVEN IF I LET GO NOW, AND THEY RESET, THEY BRING YOU TO THE SURFACE… ALL IS GOING TO RESET ANYWAYS. IF NOT BY THIS CHILD, ANOTHER WILL FALL. ANOTHER WILL TRY. ANOTHER WILL WANT TO KNOW. WE ARE STUCK IN AN ENDLESS LOOP OF HOPES, DREAMS, AND DEATH. AND I KNOW YOU WON'T DO ANYTHING AGAINST IT. YOU BLAME THE LAZINESS. I BLAME THE WEAKNESS YOU HAVE IMPLANTED INTO YOU, SOMEHOW, SOMEWHERE. WITH THAT 1 HP, 1 H**_ _O_ _ **P**_ _E_ _ **YOU HAVE, YOU STILL MANAGE TO HOLD ON. YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING**_ _ **TO HAPPEN. YET YOU HOLD ON. SEEMS LIKE DETERMINATION ISN'T SOMETHING ONLY HUMANS POSSES NATURALLY…**_

Sans wasn't responding.

 _ ***THIS IS ALL JUST A GAME, AFTER ALL.**_

No response came from the skeleton, so he figured Sans knew it all as well. Further explanations were obviously unnecessary.

 _ ***SO WITH THAT LITTLE POWER I HAVE, I WON'T TRY TO STOP THE**_ **HUMAN** _ **. I WILL STOP THE**_ **GAME** _ **FROM EXISTING. MY INEXISTENCE IS A CURSE AS MUCH AS IT IS A GIFT. WITH TOO MUCH PROCESSING GOING ON, THE GAME WILL CEASE TO EXIST IF I ENTER A BATTLE WITH A HUMAN CHILD. AND THIS HUMAN CHILD SEEMS LIKE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO TEST MY ABILITY.**_

He then finally turned around to look at the skeleton who was kneeling down, seemingly in pain.

 _ ***WHAT DO YOU THINK…?**_

Sans' artificial smile came to his face again as he looked up to meet the other skeleton's eye sockets.

 ***b-but… won't it… erase us all from existence then as well…?**

The figure in front of him slowly nodded. Sans nodded back.

 _ ***ALTHOUGH… WE WILL STILL EXIST, EVEN IF JUST THROUGH REMEMBRANCE.**_

Sans looked like he was about to break down, but the shadowy figure knew it would only make it worse if he tried to say something. After all, he wanted the small skeleton to forget completely at this point. But he sure did miss his presence. He thought he'd finally be able to leave, but Sans' head raised to make sure he'd stay to hear a few words from him.

 _ ***what did we all work for then? all those times spent with friends, family, the kid… all those wishes the echo flowers were singing, in hopes of becoming true… all those memories that are still within us, somewhere deep down… the feelings we felt, the lives we've lived, the emotions we have never even got to express. even though we would lose it again and again, we still… lived. and almost everyone was happy that we did! they wouldn't even…***_ the figure's eye sockets widened, revealing two white pupils as he heard how Sans spoke. The small monster didn't speak his usual language, but with the same he did.

 ***** _ **I WILL END THIS. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. DO NOT INTERFERE. I DON'T WANT TO SEE EVERYONE SUFFER LIKE THIS AGAIN.**_ _ESPECIALLY NOT YOU TW...*_ as he said that, the tall monster turned around and walked away from the small skeleton that was looking at him, curiosity still killing him, as it seemed.

 _ ***'never forget'**_ ***** , he heard his voice inside of his cracked skull, but chose to ignore the burn the skeleton was causing to his soul. Just before he would vanish, he turned around to see the sad skeleton sitting on the floor, all alone. He knew if he'd leave, the projection for him would end and he'd get back into his world safely, and the monster would get to Frisk next. It pained him that he mustn't tell him who and what he is, but it was for the best. He'd forget it soon enough anyways.

 _ ***TRUST ME. IT IS BETTER IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO I REALLY AM. I COULD TELL YOU I'M EVERYONE. I COULD TELL YOU I'M NO ONE… BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY… YOU WOULDN'T HAVE**_ **THE HEART** _ **TO TAKE IT ANYWAYS*,**_ the tall skeleton showed his cracked smile which was falling apart again as he saw the wide, painful smile appearing on the smaller skeleton before vanishing into the everlasting void.


	25. Chapter 25

" _Sans? Sans are… are you alright…? Hello…"_

He moved his head to the left, slowly opening his eye sockets. The dark, blurry image in front of his eye sockets seemed resistant to sharpen and after a few tries of trying to identify the character in front of him, he gave up and closed his eye sockets again, loudly sighing. He recognized the voice, but he couldn't find the energy to respond. He couldn't feel his body and the pain he was still feeling from before. He figured it was because of the shock the sudden encounter with _him_ caused. After all those years of pursuing a way to find out what it was about the past that kept haunting him and keeping him around the machine for so long, he finally got to remember, to some extension. What he was to him he couldn't tell, but he knew one thing: that person wasn't one to be messing with.

 _ ***JUST FORGET ABOUT ME,***_ were the words that were carved into his mind now, swirling through every part of it, cutting various questions into his skull. _Who is he? What's his name? Could he be a friend? A foe, perhaps? Someone that gives life? Or is it rather death…? Can you touch him? Can you kill him…? Could you love him?_ _…Could he love you?_

All the times he would spend looking at the picture Papyrus drew when he was just a kid _f_ inally made sense n _o_ w.

It was something impo _r_ tant.

Every time he would look at that strange, tall person standing behind them, shivers would run down his spine. His mind would immediately act weirdly as his body would tremble, indicating something terrible happening. And although his body would force him to put the picture away, he would always think about it. Except from fear, the picture was providing him with _g_ ri _e_ f, uncer _t_ ainty, curiousness, but also warmth and some kind of protection. All those times he would spend looking at his re _f_ lecti _o_ n, t _r_ yin _g_ to s _e_ e some _t_ hing he had unseen a long time ago were making sense too, now. Why he sometimes dreamt in black and white, seeing some strange _f_ aces that didn't resemble any _o_ ne he knew. Sometimes, the _r_ e was even a distorted face, a sin _g_ l _e_ _t_ ear sliding down his cracked cheek.

Someone important.

Sometimes, he'd _f_ eel like s _o_ mething, o _r_ rather someone, was watching him, but even in his reflection, there was nothin _g_. All thos _e_ _t_ imes he _f_ elt simply weird that they had th _o_ se kind of powe _r_ s, and that they were the only skeletons around. He couldn't even remember where he came from, just like someone erased all of their memories, or existence before itself. Some ni _g_ hts h _e_ would spend awake, _t_ rying to get whom Papyrus resembled when he wore a black and white out _f_ it _o_ ne day, leaving his b _r_ i _g_ ht and ch _e_ erful clo _t_ hes behind. Sometimes, he'd look at his skeletal hands, knowing he and his brother were not the only ones at one point. But now they were. But he couldn't remember. Although he wrote all over his brother's picture: **'don't forget'**.

The skeleton remembered how he trained with Gaster Blasters in each hand. He soon grew attached to them and wanted to research about them to find out what they were and why they existed, but he had never been a scientific genius and couldn't possibly go tell Alphys about it. He found blueprints behind his house one day, leading him into more serious research as he started studying the power called determination. For some reason, he was able to read what the strange inscriptions said without having to decipher them. Night after night he'd go into the small workshop he had, collecting as much data as possible and trying to figure out what it all meant. He teamed up with Alphys as well at one point, so they'd get behind the mystery of the power together. But all they got were strange radio waves emitting from humans whose souls kept coming back again and again. He gave up entirely, eventually, realizing it was not up to them, and left the research to his good, dorky friend. He knew he was only looking at the surface of things while trying to uncover the mystery that lied beneath all of the humans' powers, and not just behind determination. But unfortunately, the person who wrote the blueprints didn't investigate anything else, although Alphys managed to get some pieces together. Most of them were only hypothesizes, though. Would a human really need a monster's soul to pass through the barrier as they predicted, or…?

" _Sans…?"_ the silent, worried voice came again and he muttered something as he moved to sense he was resting his head on her lap. He couldn't care less, though.

" _Come on… it was a joke, no need to… to die…"_ the skeleton managed to smile on that one as he slowly put his hands at his sides, sitting up. He put a hand on his skull and looked in front of himself, the blurry image finally sharpening again. Frisk's wide eyes were right in front of him.

"You awake?" the kid asked.

 ***oh, yeah. i guess. thanks, kid*** , Sans dumbly smiled. Frisk then frowned.

"You had me worried there! I thought I had…"

 ***you? heh. nah, you wouldn't be able to.**

Frisk's frown intensified, but seeing that wide smile on Sans' face, she smiled back. Sans' head suddenly hurt again and he put both of his hands on top of his skull again, so Frisk naturally wanted to reach out to him, but decided to stay away as the skeleton was writhing in pain. He suddenly got his hand in front of his eye sockets and reached for it with his other, shaking hand. He looked scared, but Frisk was just watching. She was scared of him, remembering his enormous, unpredictable power. He took the tip of his glove and slowly pulled it from his hand, revealing a hole in it as his soul stopped for a second. His pupils vanished as he just stared at it for a while, his breath intensifying. Suddenly, his whole body started shaking even harder as Frisk slid further away from him. He soon looked at her as a terrified expression formed on his face.

 ***Run*** , his voice sounded different. Frisk just stared at the skeleton who changed his attitude in a flash. Sans stood up, almost falling over again but holding on to the machine.

 ***n-no… don't… there's nothing to be afraid of*** , he soon said as a smile appeared on him again. Frisk remained sitting on the dusty was sure the person he met would never be able to come to this world without completely glitching it, so he tried to remain calm. He suddenly remembered how the person said he would erase everything from existence by entering their world just to make the humans stop resetting over and over again, but Sans knew there was another way. He was sure not every human was like that. He nervously made his way towards the centre of the small lab to walk in circles, trying to calm down completely.

 _ ***YOU SHOULD HAVE FORGOTTEN.**_

Sans' eye sockets narrowed.

 _ ***JUST FORGET… PLEASE…**_

The skeleton sighed as he completely ignored the child sitting in the corner. He couldn't calm down with the voice in his head keeping telling him to forget even though he knew he made it obvious Sans was going to remember. Frustrated on the inside and relaxed on the outside, he bent over to reach for the picture that was on the floor. He took a quick glance on it and wanted to put it back, but stopped in the middle of doing so. He stopped every movement as well.

The tall man behind them was blurred out. Almost… gone.

Sans' body tensed as he widely smiled to look back at the teen watching him from afar. He was still smiling.

 ***…don't… follow me, kid*** , he said as he concealed something on his face.

With that, the terrified skeleton stormed out of the room, losing his hoodie in the process, to leave her alone in the dark, but little did he know that there was someone else in the room. Frisk heard a weird noise coming from behind the machine. It was scratching and screeching with quick steps walking into every direction. The kid in the oversized sweater slowly stood up and made her way down the dusty path leading towards the machine. She wasn't frightened. In fact, the only thing she felt was curiosity, the thing that made her go down the terrible path she chose at the first place. She couldn't care less if this was yet another bad choice, she knew the 'timeline', as her skeletal friend would call their life, couldn't get any worse. As she managed to squeeze herself behind the machine, she could clearly see something white, slowly changing its position to face the kid. As she leaned forward to touch the creature in front of her, some liquid dripped on the floor as a pant was released from it. She then reached out for it. As she saw what it was, however, she widely opened her eyes that once used to be shut completely, hiding their beauty to prevent them from growing dim, like they were now.

In front of her, there was a little white dog.

He barked at her multiple times, his small fluffy tail wagging as he saw the kid reaching her hand towards him. She looked astounded, so the dog's eyes narrowed as he began chasing his tail. Frisk felt playful again, all of a sudden, and wanted to grab the dog, but he clumsily dodged her attempt to get near to him before leaping at her lap and throwing his whole body to the ground, wallowing in the dust Frisk was afraid of now. She hated it with everything she had. The dog barked for attention, so Frisk stood up and approached it again, only to be ignored by the dog. She frowned at him and suddenly grabbed him, pulling him up, not letting him escape. The dog just kept his funny, smiling face on him as he was wiggling in the teen's arms for about a minute of petting session. He then turned his head towards her, tilting his head and playfully barking.

"Oh… You want to… play with me?"

The dog chased his tail before barking multiple times in a cute way. Frisk giggled as she grabbed a random tool, throwing it into the dog's direction. The dog just remained staring at her with the happy expression he had.

" _Seriously. She thought I'd fetch it and bring it back…? Wow. Never expected that to happen",_ the dog looked aside for a moment of thinking before returning his gaze at Frisk and playfully barking, dancing around as he was picking up the dust from the ground. Occasionally he'd trip and fall over so that his fluffy fur would become one with the ground, picking up dust and dirt and with his playful rolls, it would get smeared all over his whiteness. He'd then fall asleep, quietly snoozing on the ground, apparently trying to find a blanket somewhere near. He'd soon wake up and start chasing its own tail again, but would stop to scratch itself under the collar he wore.

Frisk managed to decipher the word written in chicken scratch. It said ' _TOBY_ '.

"Would you mind me petting you…?" Frisk friendly asked as the dog stared for a while, but stood up on all fours and looked towards the human looking at him white wide eyes. Like he didn't know what she did. He then faced the door to the outside and pointed at it with his tiny, cute paw raised in the air, his tail still swinging from left to right. He barked and happily leaped, so Frisk smiled at him.

"Oh… so you wanna go outside? Sure", she said as she completely forgot what Sans said earlier because of the cuteness the dog was providing. She approached the door and heavily pushed it to open it as the dog happily bounced after her. As he reached the centre of the room, she picked up Sans' hoodie in order to return it to him and put it over her shoulders, while he picked up the picture and slobbered all over it as he carried it in his mouth. He didn't plan on doing it at first, but something seemed to have forced him to in this timeline. He then approached the teen as she was waiting for him to step outside. The dog looked back at winked on seemingly nothing.

"Let's go, doggy", Frisk happily said and got out.

"And the plot thickens…" the dog happily hummed and leaped out of the lab as well.

* * *

Frisk didn't like what she saw when she stepped outside as the dog just sneaked by. The monsters that were once around here were gone, but that was the same as when she came back to Snowdin. Since then, more things had disappeared. There were no buildings, no lights hanging from their rooftops as well. The librarby wasn't next to their house. No one would visit the books now, it seemed. She walked further towards emptiness, trying not to look at the ground that didn't make the familiar snow-squishing noise as she was squeezing the hoodie on her back. The tree with presents underneath it was gone. There was no cheerful atmosphere since no one was there, which made her feel guilty, but that wasn't the thing that was disturbing to her. What bothered her much, much more, was that there wasn't a sad atmosphere, or a scary one. There was nothing. She felt nothing as emptiness was making its way to her. The further she walked, the worse the emptiness got as the small snowflakes still falling from the sky disappeared as well. Everything around her would usually be white, when she was here, even without lights. Now it was just gray.

She stopped at the sight of literally nothing. She was looking at the void where once Sans' favorite diner stood. The cheerful laughs behind the heavily lit windows were now silenced. The rooftop that would occasionally drop snow on top of an unfortunate random monster was gone too. The sight of Grillby eagerly awaiting another customer when any monster passed by the bar wasn't there as well. It was weird.

Frisk looked back to find the shocking revelation that Sans' and Papyrus' house was gone too. There was no house which showed brotherly love more than it, even though papyrus wasn't around anymore. Sans would still throw the plates out the window, just to make it seem like papyrus was still there, although everyone knew what happened. Frisk knew Sans did it more for himself than for the others. He couldn't just let go, no matter how hard he tried. Scared, she gasped and ran to the other side again, ignoring the fact that nothing was around her. As there was nothing left of the town, not even the memories and emotions binding everyone together, the kid started sobbing, but tears refused to fall from her eyes. She ran and ran, until she tripped over her own feet and landed on something she didn't even know what it was. Finally, she looked at the floor, realizing there was no actual floor. She couldn't tell if she really fell, or if she just floated in the air since she couldn't even touch what was underneath her. Terrified, she looked up at the sky to see if it was the same color as she remembered it to be. Although dark and seemingly endless as well as empty, it filled her with determination to look at it, dreaming to get to the surface and look at the bright light once again. Sure, not everything was like the monsters imagined it to be, but it surely had a beautiful sky. Unfortunately, there wasn't actually a sky. Just another gray platform stretching far away. Frisk shook her head as she stood at her trembling feet, running ahead again. She was looking around restlessly for something, anything to appear, but there was nothing. Not a single thing except cold reaching beneath her skin. There were no sounds as she was running, just the constant beat of her heart that was once lost. She then stopped. Running seemed pointless at a sight like this. No matter how far she ran, nothing was coming up. Just like everything erased from existence. Her heartbeat soon slowed down, resembling a clock's ticks getting slower and slower. Her breath intensified as she was scared.

"What the heck is happening…?" she finally managed to ask, but got no response. Her eyes hadn't blinked from the time she exited the lab behind the house that was gone now too. She took a deep breath to call out one first, and last time, in hopes he'd hear her.

"SANS!" she yelled.

But nobody came.

Crushed, the girl fell at her knees and covered her face in her small palms as she prepared to dry her face as soon as tears came, but not even tears came. Completely devoid of any hope, she looked ahead of herself to see a figure bent over, staring at the ground in front of himself.

"…Sans…?" she silently asked as she stood up and made her way towards the figure drenching in black goop. The figure's white head freakishly moved as he heard her voice, tilting his head at his left shoulder, his whole body tensing. It was the moment Frisk realized there was no return. She could feel the enormous power radiating from the creature, surpassing Sans' by far. She was childish, easily influenced and clumsy, but she wasn't dumb. The figure in front of her was eating up the universe she was in, the glitchy particles around him proving her thought. he looked back at her to reveal two deep cracks on his skull which were pushing his left and right parietal bones apart, his eye sockets deformed as well. She dreaded at the sight. There were tears sliding down his cheekbones as he slowly stood up, shaking in the process. He was a slender man dressed in a black cloth that covered his whole body like he was hiding what he truly was. Around his neck, there was a cloth which looked much like a white scarf, binding pieces of his neck. He was creepily smiling, and the crack on the left side of his skull which was reaching over his mouth didn't help. He was staring at the blue on her back. The most unsettling parts of him were his long, skeletal hands with holes in them, though. Papyrus and Sans would usually have their hands covered with gloves, so she had never seen a real skeleton's hand before. His fingers were much longer, though.

They stared at each other for a moment, the man who spoke in hands glitching a few times as he clenched his hands together while looking at the child who killed almost everyone already. It made it easier for him now. He wiped the tears off as he glitched again and suddenly vanished, leaving Frisk to stare at the position he was at before. Suddenly, she could feel long, boney fingers touching her shoulder, soon gripping it tightly. She froze for a second, but slowly turned around to see the skeletal man bent over to look into her eyes like he was inspecting her of some sort. His smile wasn't vanishing, but black liquid was dropping out of it. Frisk made a disgusted face despite her best efforts not to. She gulped as she was staring right into his empty eye sockets. He suddenly got closer to her face as she flinched.

"Are you… Sans…?" she silently asked and the figure seemed not to be able to respond to that question. Frisk then reached for his skeletal hand as she tried to calm the trembling monster, ignoring the fact that he made everything disappear. She made everyone on her path disappear too, at one point. He seemed sorry for it too.

He quickly raised his hand and lifted her up, turning her soul blue and thrashing her down at the floor, if you could call it like that. He trembled again as he coughed black liquid out of his mouth before returning his sight to her, his eye sockets glowing. One was blue, the other orange-toned. His hands clenched into fists. He did no real damage to the human, since he knew he shouldn't be wasting time or energy.

Frisk stood up; reaching for the weapon she had earlier. But nothing was there.

The figure's face showed a deep regret for the thing he had done. Still, he widely smiled as he got closer to the teenager as she tried to step back, but could feel bones right behind her, so she stopped. The skeleton raised his hand to summon a Gaster Blaster, much greater in size that Sans' biggest ones were. It fired, but Frisk managed to dodge the attack by rolling to the side. She stood up again, looking at the skeleton with some kind of faint hope. The skeleton's eye sockets narrowed as he lowered his head, swiftly raining his thin hand into the air to make an arena made of bones to appear around them. He then bent forward and a strange noise came from him, coming off as whispers of some sort to the human's ears. For some reason she could understand him.

 _ ***No.**_

The skeleton sent blue and white bones towards her, an attack almost impossible to dodge. Frisk ended up losing half of her HP already and stayed lying on the floor, listening to the skeleton's heavy breath.

"Who are you…?" she asked like she wasn't in the midst of battle and the figure straightened, ignoring the sound his backbone made. His face glitched from a happy expression to a sad one, before his mouth morphed into a menacing smile. She acted like she didn't want to fight. She killed dozens of monsters ruthlessly, even some that weren't supposed to die as early. She killed out of fun and she found pleasure in doing it. He knew everything about her. He had watched her for a long, long time. She didn't need weapon to hurt monster victims.

 _ ***I AM SOMEONE THAT NEVER EVEN EXISTED***_ , he created two blasters with a simple hand gesture, both of them firing at the same time. The bigger blaster missed although it was perfectly aligned with her, while the other hit her although he was further way and had much less chance of hitting her. The figure in front of her seemed to shake in agony for some reason, but Frisk ignored it and got closer. She had no will to fight, it seemed. The creature in front of her knew that as well, but this wasn't just her matter. It was humanity that had to vanish. And if they weren't able to smite humanity, he was certainly capable of destroying his own, beloved world.

 ***** _ **CURIOSITY LED YOU HERE. YOUR WORST ENEMY**_ _ **SINCE**_ _ **YOU WERE BUT A MERE CHILD**_ **…*** he glitched as he took her soul and turned it green, making a small shield appear in her arms as he fired bones from all sides at her. Unlike the fight with Undyne, his tactic was much more complex since he didn't only fire at more than four sides, but also attacked her from multiple sides at the same time. Frisk was certainly having the worst time as she heard a devilish chuckle from behind her.

 _ ***OF COURSE. THERE IS STILL ME. SOMEONE WHO IS ABOUT TO ERADICATE HIS OWN WORLD, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY… NEVER INTERFERING AGAIN***_ , he said and pointed bones appeared in the air, firing at her. She, luckily, dodged.

She held the shield proudly, _bravely_ , her eyes bravely focused on the figure in front of her. His smile got somewhat smaller as he turned half of her soul blue, smacking her against the wall as he still made her fight the pointed bones that kept flying towards the shield she was holding up.

 _ ***YOU HAVEN'T RESTARTED A SINGLE TIME, WHICH IS REMARKABLE FOR A SMALL HUMAN LIKE YOU… THERE WERE BIGGER ONES DOWN TOO, AND THEY HADN'T HAD THE SAME POWER AS YOU… ASTOUNDING. SIMPLY ASTOUNDING. STILL, YOU HAVE PROVOKED ME BY CONSTANTLY SAVING OVER AND OVER… WITHOUT ANY SAVE POINTS. IT IS STRANGE, SEEING SUCH A POWER IN FRONT OF MY VERY OWN EYE SOCKETS. THERE IS STILL THE QUESTION HOW, THOUGH.**_

Frisk widely smiled as she heard how the weird creature responded to her. The figure chose not to make her life any harder for now, so he removed the shield from her and just smacked her upwards and then bringing her down into a pile of bones. She managed to climb on top of one and just sat there for a moment, looking at him with her huge, hopeful eyes. The monster trembled as he coughed liquid out once again, his breath hardening.

 _ ***YOU ARE TRULY AN ANOMALY, JUST LIKE THEY HAVE PREDICTED… I GUESS I SHOULD TREAT YOU LIKE ONE THEN, SHOULDN'T I?**_

Suddenly, thousands of bones crashed right through her, instantly shattering her soul into pieces. Suddenly, everything went still as he just looked at the shreds of the kid's life peacefully dancing around before falling to ground. He reached out his hand to pick up a piece of it, but clenched his hand as the piece began losing its color as soon as he got closer to it. He didn't know why, but he felt something. He didn't know if it was positive or negative towards the child, but it got him focused on her enough to make himself revive her by just pushing the pieces together as he turned them blue again. Her body reappeared and she almost fell to the floor, but the figure had ensured that wouldn't happen by turning her soul red again to freely roam around. That is, until he sent a wave of bones at her, cutting her HP less than half once again. Frisk was confused of what was going on, but didn't really have time to say anything since the shadowy figure kept attacking ruthlessly.

 _ ***YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OVER…? HUH. AFTER KILLING SO MANY MONSTERS… EVEN SOME THAT I…***_ his orange pupil flashed in a harsher light as the blue one almost faded, _***NO. I WILL CONTINUE ESTIMATING YOUR POWER, TO KNOW IF IT IS WORTH… NO. There's no escape now. IN A FEW MOMENTS, THIS WORLD SHALL BE NO LONGER. THERE WAS NO NEED FOR YOU TO REACH OUT TO ME. TO PROVOKE ME AND THE FEW FEELINGS I STILL HAD. I WILL ERASE THIS WORLD, EVEN AGAINST MY OWN WILL! JUST… TO MAKE HUMANS STOP ALREADY.**_

He moved his hand a few times to make her smack against literal nothing and somehow managed to take her HP anyways. He didn't seem to be losing power anymore. Frisk soon found herself down at the floor. She knew the only logical thing for her to do was fight back so he wouldn't destroy everything, if anything was still left of the world she grew to love again, but she chose to Act instead.

"Why…?" her silent voice came to his skull and he pretended not to care. He hated her curiosity. It reminded him of himself, when he was still capable of feeling it.

 _ ***Seeing them die over and over again… SEEING THIS WORLD FALLING APART? NO. YOUR CONTINUED DETERMINATION HAS PLACED THIS WORLD IN RUIN. I'M FORCED TO FIGHT YOU. NOT BECAUSE OF SURVIVAL, OR BECAUSE OF PAYBACK. BUT SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE INTENTION TO STOP YOU.**_

Bones pierced through her soul again, but she couldn't even register what happened before he put the pieces back together, before blasting them to shreds again. He couldn't stop his hand from reaching out to her though, turning one of her parts into gray. Soon, she'd be gone too. Soon, she'd be back at her won world, and her experience down here would never exist. Just like he never existed. He made her soul whole again and raised it, throwing it as far away as he could before glitching again. He knew he was using up too much power. He'd need it to destroy every file hidden across the globe that they were part of. But he couldn't stop. It was so much fun.

Frisk slammed to the ground, but remained on her knees, ignoring the few cuts that were bleeding. She stood up, but he immediately blasted her to the ground again, smirking.

 _ ***IT IS HIGHLY IMPROBABLE FOR YOU TO STOP ME. EVEN IF SO, I HAVE PREPARED PROPER MEASURES, TO MAKE SURE WE STILL ALL PERISH. YOUR INTENTION WAS ERASING US FROM EXISTANCE, WAS IT NOT? WELL, IF YOU HAD CONTINUED WITH THAT PLAN, I'D MIGHT RECONSIDER FIGHTING YOU. YOU SEE, I DO NOT CARE**_ **HOW** _ **THE WORLD PERISHES. I JUST WANT IT TO STOP.**_ **RESETTING** _ **.**_

Frisk stood at her trembling legs and just stared at him. Admittedly, she had no idea what the skeleton was saying, but she saw that he deeply regretted what he was about to do. So she just stood there.

 _ ***HUMANS KEEP FALLING DOWN. CONSTANTLY. AGAIN AND AGAIN. SOMETIMES IT'S NEW ONES; BUT SOMETIMES IT'S JUST THE SAME ONES, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY HAD MISSED, OR JUST PLAY WITH OUR EMOTIONS FOR FUN. I CAN UNDERSTAND IF YOU THINK OF MY ACTIONS AS SINFUL AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE. HOW CAN A HUMAN SOUL WITH KINDNESS, JUSTICE, BRAVERY OR INTEGRITY POSSIBLY BE A WRONGDOER? OR YOU MIGHT THINK I'M JUST BEING INSUFFERABLE AT THIS POINT***_ , he attacked her with a wave of bones, but turned her soul green and she managed to pull out the shield right on time. There was one part of her soul that couldn't dodge the attack, however. He then turned her soul yellow.

 _ ***NO. THE PROBLEM ISN'T ONLY HUMANS MURDERING EVERYTHING ON THEIR PATH. THE PROBLEM ISN'T HUGGING RANDOM STRANGERS… IT IS THE LIE WE LIVE IN. FREEDOM CAN THUS NEVER COME, AND ALL OF THE RESEARCH PERFORMED IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME. WE GET THROWN INTO THE PIT AGAIN AND AGAIN. WELL… they. And I can't bear to look at the ones who actually remember, even if just slightly, what happened in the last timeline…**_

He sent bones towards her and she shot them away as he was still explaining.

 _ ***THIS 'GAME' YOU PLAY IS THE REFLECTION OF YOU. YOUR SOUL. AND YOU CORRUPTED IT TO THE POINT YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME FROM THE OTHER WORLD JUST TO MAKE IT STOP. NONE OF THIS SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. AN ANOMALY THAT BIG CAN CAUSE SERIOUS AND PERMANENT DAMAGE…**_

"Don't erase this world…"

Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared around her as they started attacking her. He just stood there again, his weakness showing in his slight, but heavy breath and his constant bending.

"…If you don't want to."

At that, he approached her and his cloth started spreading around her, gripping her body and limbs tightly to make sure she'd look at him into his empty eye sockets. Those empty eye sockets were leaking black liquid again as she felt her power slowly being drained.

 _ ***IT HAS NEVER BEEN WHAT WE PERSONALLY WANT. AND IT NEVER WILL BE THAT WAY. THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS THAT IT STOPS. MY HOPES FOR THEM DON'T MATTER. THEY WILL SOON BE ERASED FROM EXISTENCE ANYWAYS… AND THUS WON'T HAVE TO SUFFER ANY LONGER.**_

He was squeezing Frisk's body as the child struggled to break free. But nothing happened. A Gaster Blaster appeared right above her, pointing its sharp teeth at her.

 _ ***PHOTON READINGS ARE POSITIVE… THIS NEXT ATTACK WILL MOST CERTAINLY**_ **BLOW** _ **YOU AWAY***_ , he said before flinching for a moment as he saw that Frisk realized it was a joke. The shot fired and tore his cloth into shreds, but it kept being endless anyways. She was still getting squeezed by the monster dressed in black, hanging on with 1 HP left. She looked at her small hands wrapped in the cloth that looked like it would consume her any moment, only to see that they were getting grayer with time. Scared, she flinched and tried to pull out of the skeleton's hug, only to be pulled closer to see how he was crying uncontrollably. Frisk stopped moving around and just stared into his empty eye sockets that kept leaking perfectly clean tears.

 _ ***…YOU**_ **WILL** _ **BE FINE, I ASSURE YOU. IT IS US THE WORLD WILL GET RID OFF. YOU'LL SOON BE HOME.**_

As he said that, Frisk tilted her head. She realized he was scared on his own. He seemed to be reluctant to erase everything after all, and she realized he wasn't as bitter and cold as he firstly seemed. The uncontrollable tears running down his cheekbones showed it all.

"There is another way…" Frisk silently said as she saw her soul getting darker in front of her very own eyes. The skeleton was tilting his head in various directions to observe the soul that was about to get lost.

 _ ***NO ONE CAN STOP THE MADNESS WE ARE ALREADY ENGULFED IN. IT IS TOO LATE. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS IS BY ERASING US ALL COMPLETELY, CHILD***_ , he squeezed the teen's arm, his whole body trembling as he felt her soul slowly extinguishing.

"…Why are you sad…?" Frisk asked as she was ignoring the pain he was inflicting to her. His eye sockets widened, but he growled at her as he got closer to her face.

 _ ***NO ONE SHOULD CARE.**_

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at his eye sockets again, purposefully avoiding looking at the graying, decaying soul. He glitched at her _kindness_ as he saw the black liquid come out of his mouth again, dripping at her sleeve.

"But… I care", she whispered and the skeleton's tight grip loosened. He frowned widely as he widely opened his mouth, resembling Flowey's face when he would try to scare her. She had already seen all of this, so she smiled widely and cutely, making him even more frustrated.

 _ ***THERE'S NO NEED TO. I AM PERFECTLY FINE WITHOUT YOUR PITY…**_

Frisk's eyes remained at the skeleton's eye sockets, her soul brightening up again. He hated the _integrity_ she was showing. He also hated how much his own thoughts would always contradict themselves. His shattered soul got another crack etched into it, making him gasp loudly.

 _ ***YOUR**_ **PERSEVERANCE** _ **IS ASTONISHING, CHILD. BUT DO NOT THINK I WILL LET YOU FREE JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR DESIRE TO NOT HARM ME. EVEN IF I DID, WHAT CHANGE WOULD IT MAKE? EVEN IF I STOPPED THIS BATTLE, THERE WOULDN'T BE ANYTHING LEFT. AND YOU CANNOT RESET… SINCE I CHOSE YOU FOR THE BEARER OF THE WORLD'S DEMISE.**_

Without even giving her the chance to speak up, he continued, a sadder expression on his fading face. There was white light around it, making him look like he was completely lost. A lost soul.

 _ ***YOU LOVED THIS WORLD. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TO GET HERE, AND I'M SURE NOBODY DOES. YOU BEFRIENDED EVERYONE YOU CAME ACROSS. MADE YOUR PATH CLEAR WHILE TALKING TO THE LOWER LIFE FORMS, HOW THEY HAD ALWAYS CALLED US. THE TRUTH IS… I DON'T KNOW IF HUMANS ARE THAT BAD. MY RESEARCH IS BASED ON ASSUMPTIONS LEADING TO MERE ERRORS, SOMETIMES. I HAVE SEEN MY MISTAKES, HUMAN CHILD. I HAVE TRIED TO NEGATE THEM. BUT COULDN'T… ONLY HUMANS COULD RESET, I KNEW… BUT I CRAVED THAT POWER. SO I TOOK IT. TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I JUST RESET EVERYTHING MYSELF. MY INEXISTENCE… TO BE ABLE TO WALK AMONGST MONSTERS ONCE AGAIN. TO BE ABLE TO FEEL LOVE, COMPASSION, LIKE YOU DO… TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF… Of…**_

He suddenly tightened his grip again.

 _ ***I WANTED TO EXIST!**_

Frisk wished to be able to do something, but she could barely feel her limbs. She knew that in a few moments, she wouldn't be able to see him anymore, let alone help him.

 _ ***BUT I HAVE FAILED YET AGAIN. THE ONLY THING I DID WAS MESS THINGS UP, GLITCHING THE GAME IN A WAY NO ONE WAS ABLE TO BEFORE… CHANGING EVENTS AND… AND TOOK YOUR COMPASSION… WHICH WASN'T SUITABLE FOR MY CRACKING SOUL, AND ONLY RELEASED THE BEAST THAT WOULD FOLLOW HUMANS WHEN THEY'D FALL DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. IT WOULD HAVE NEVER TOUCHED YOU… BECAUSE YOU ARE DESTINED TO SAVE THIS WORLD…**_ **WERE** _ **.**_

The person suddenly started crying again.

 _ ***IN A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO CONCEAL WHAT I HAD REALLY DONE, I LIED TO MYSELF AND TO THE ONLY ONE WHO STILL TRIED TO REMEMBER ME, STATING IT WAS TO RID THIS WORLD OF HUMANS ENTIRELY, FOREVER. BUT THE TRUTH IS, THIS WORLD IS COLLAPSING ON ITS OWN, AND WILL CEASE TO EXIST AT ANY MOMENT, DUE TO MY SHARE OF DETERMINATION INJECTED INTO MY DECOMPOSING BODY. I CAME… NOT TO DESTORY EVERYTHING, BUT TO SAVE EVERYTHING THAT I HAD TRIGGERED BY FINDING YOU AND TAKING YOUR SOUL POWER… BUT AS I APPEARED, THE DARK VOID WALKING ALONGSIDE ME PULLED EVERYTHING INTO ITSELF, CORRUPTING ALL THE FILES AND ERASING EVERYTHING LEFT IN THIS TOWN, INCLUDING SANS. I MEANT TO TAKE YOUR SOUL JUST AS A LAST RESORT…**_

He sighed as Frisk _patiently_ waited for him to finish his talk, her eyes getting wet as well.

 _ ***TO SUM IT ALL UP… I WAS THE ONE PULLING THE STRINGS BEHIND EVERYTHING. I WAS THE ONE MANIPULATING THEM ALL, STOPPING THEIR PROGRESSES. SENDING YOUR SKELETON FRIEND TO FIND YOU AND TO GUIDE YOU TOWARDS THIS VERY TOWN. I WAS THE ONE WHO MADE PAPYRUS CRY DAY AFTER DAY, SINCE I MADE THE EVENTS LINE UP SO THAT HE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD, EVEN AFTER DEMONSTRATING SOME OF HIS POWER IN THE BATTLE AGAINST YOU. I MADE FLOWEY TALK TO YOU MORE OFTEN THEN HE SHOULD HAVE, JUST TO LET YOU THINK THAT HE WAS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING HAPPENING, INCLUDING FOR YOUR MOTHER'S DEATH. IN TRUTH, IT WAS ME WHO LURED THE MONSTER TOWARDS YOUR BED AND IT WAS ME WHISPERING WORDS OF GRIEF INTO HER EARS, KNOWING THAT IT WOULD EVENTUALLY KILL HER AND MAKE YOU BREAK DOWN. AT THAT VERY MOMENT WHEN YOU LOST YOUR GRIP OF THE WORLD AND SLID INTO DEPRESSION, I HAD MADE MY WAY TOWARDS YOUR SOUL AND TOOK YOUR POWER... YOU STILL DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. BUT YOU FELT IT, AS YOUR SOULS... WERE CONNECTED, HUMAN.**_

She stared.

 _ ***...SO WHAT IF A FEW MONSTERS DIED…? I COULD REVIVE THEM SOON ENOUGH AS I'D MAKE TIME GO BACK. AND WRONG I WAS YET AGAIN, CHILD. AND WHILST IT IS TRUE THAT I AM BOTHERED BY THE CONSTANT RESETS OF HUMANS… MANY OF THEM STILL SEEM PRETTY HAPPY… I WOULD NEVER WANT TO… MY… MY INTENTIONS WERE SELFISH, AND DOWNRIGHT UNFORGIVEABLE. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, AS A SCIENTIST… THAT ONCE ONE RAINDROP FALLS, THOUSANDS OF THEM GO WITH IT. I SHOULD HAVE LIVED WITH MY MISTAKE, AND JUST STOP SINCE MY BODY'S PARTICLES ARE GLITCHING EVERYTHING AROUND THEM BY THEIR OWN. EVEN IF I HAD RETURNED… NO ONE WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED ME. EVEN IF HE DID, HE WOULDN'T HAVE FORGIVEN ME FOR WHAT I HAD DONE.**_

 _Justice_ was something Frisk had from the very beginning, as her mother did everything to teach her of every trait. Still, she reached out to his eye socket and wiped a tear away, smiling.

 _ ***I wanted them to see me so bad…**_

At this, he made another Gaster Blaster appear in the air and aimed it down at Frisk. She didn't respond, but her soul flashed as it tried to escape the gray colors spreading around it.

"I can help you…"

 _ ***HELP? HOW COULD YOU, A SIMPLE CHILD, HELP ME?***_ he went silent for a moment, like he thought about the things he just said, _***…NO. YOU CAN'T HELP ME. I'M HOPELESS. A LOST SOUL… It's too late.**_

Frisk lowered her eyebrows as the figure squeezing her body heavily gasped.

 _ ***I WILL NOW END YOUR JOURNEY HERE. THE ONES SUCKED INTO THE VOID ARE FOREVER BANISHED INTO MY WORLD… A WORLD OF NOTHING. NOT TOGETHER, BUT ALONE, JUST SLIGHTLY FEELING THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS, BUT NEVER ABLE TO SEE THEM. AND TO KILL YOU HERE AND NOW MEANS FOR YOU TO RETURN TO YOUR SURFACE, AND FORGET ABOUT THEM. THERE WILL BE NO MEMORIES OF THEM EXISTING. NO RECORD WE EVER DID. BUT A LIFE OF JOY.**_

Frisk's tears started sliding down her cheeks faster than before. She knew the person in front of her was terrible and took everything from them, not her. Still, she couldn't look over his regretful face, crying in the presence of the love she felt for others. Monsters really were weird. She braced for impact as that one, final blast came. Pain spread through her body, her soul cracking up slowly and painfully, the attack slowly ripping it in half. As it did, she felt her memories fade, something she assumed happened those times her soul already fell apart. This time, the feeling of losing everyone close to her stuck though, and she knew it was the end.

She remembered the ones she cared most about as her soul was crying out in pain. This was it. The final attack monsters would land on her. Suddenly, memories of those dear monsters came into her head, just like flashing images before death.

* * *

 _You know. I might not always be here to protect you physically, but… I will… always be a fabric of your life, because my thoughts have been taught, my example will have been seen and my love will have been in you for your whole life… so will a part of my Soul. And thus, I will stay with you forever, no matter how far apart we are…* the flower said in a shaking voice while smiling. He soon directed that wide, childish smile towards her, the innocence of his true, eternal youth visible in it._

 _*I haven't understood up till this point, Chara, but now…! With you, everything makes sense!* he looked genuinely happy._

 _Frisk had always loved Flowey's mysteriousness. No matter how badly he acted at times, he was still someone who could teach her things about herself she didn't know. He was a real goofball sometimes too, and couldn't always conceal his child-like self. And no matter how emotionless he was, she couldn't help but to love every single time he smiled._

 _And the king Flowey talked about seemed very wise too._

* * *

 _~Don't you know they all have something special? Something that shines within them? The thing you lost, darling? Not everyone loses that._

 _At the time, she didn't realize, but now that she remembered the tall, glamorous robot, she saw the clearly hurt expression on his metallic face. There usually wasn't a frown on him, but that particular moment, he looked like he felt sorry for her. She now knew he never meant to say anything bad towards anyone, but he was too incapable of expressing his true feelings because of all the glitter they threw at him every day. She just hoped he learned how to show those feeling while he was still alive, just like she relearned to._

 _She had always loved Mettaton's show. Not for his looks, not for his commentary, but just because he was such an explosive, outgoing person._

* * *

 _As she thought of Mettaton, she immediately remembered the little monster which created his metal body._

 _*_ _ **W**_ _-Would you… perhaps… uh, watch it with me, one day… it's called Mew Mew Kissy Cutie… B-but it's not that kind of anime! Not the weird one, I swear…* she nervously tapped her feet as she was walking, *It's a story about love and trust, I assure you! And with ice cream… and friends… and… compassion… and… heh heh… um… N-Never mind… Why would anyone want to…* her voice turned sad as she lowered her head, so Frisk knew the least she could do was smile and agree._

" _Sure", Frisk said as Alphys' face lit up, her mouth forming a huge smile which revealed her buckteeth._

 _*_ _ **R**_ _-Really?! You would want to… Yes! Oh, yes! Yes! L-Let's go watch it, then!* the lizard-like monster happily exclaimed as she closed her eyes from the huge smile on her face. She looked happy._

 _Frisk never thought a person could get attached to a thing so much that it would practically be in every part of their life, consuming every single piece of free time they'd have. She had always admired Alphys' passion, even if it was for things she didn't really care about._

* * *

 _Undyne smiled. Her smile was big and wide, and was the most appealing trait she had. She was energetic, athletic, strong, confident, brave and funny, but the smile she showed was something special._

 _ ***Heh. It's not about what I want… It's about everyone's hopes… and dreams to get out of this hellhole. But that was never enough,***_ _t5he fish lady gazed on the ground for a second, revealing how sad that fact made her. The smile soon reappeared though, as she realized the kid was still looking at her, but in a sweeter style, this time,_ _ ***someone has to do all the dirty work, human… and that one's me.**_

 _Admittedly, Frisk stopped listening at that point. She was looking at Undyne's expression which was showing that she was reluctant to fight, no matter how much she wanted her freedom to finally come. Not just for her sake, but for everyone else's as well. She was aggressive and rude and wasn't scared to throw spears at people who dare cross her path, but that moment made her realize she wasn't doing it for fun, or because it was in her nature. She just wanted for everyone to go Home._

 _ ***Frisk.***_

 _Her sudden change of tone made Frisk listen to her again. She was smiling as she was looking at the ground._

 _ ***I know the likes of you… All nerds, but… I quite like them. And I see you're not one of the bad guys, but… that still doesn't stop me from doing whatever I have to do. An assignment is an assigment. I WILL kill you, human, even if it's against my nature, or against my heart. Frisk. The only thing I can't go against is my own dignity… and I see you're not ready to fight me,***_ _she widely smiled as Frisk didn't know if she should laugh from happiness or cry from fear._

 _But then, Undyne widely smiled again._

 _ ***At least not with those noodle arms of yours.**_

 _Frisk looked down at her arms and couldn't help but to show a faint smile. Her arms really were noodle-like._

 _Frisk loved the way Undyne was determined and didn't let anything slip past her. She was strong, fierce and would never quit or break a rule, but sometimes, just sometimes, she would bend the law by just a tiny bit, hiding how much she really cared about nice people and how she was actually a bit scared of her own. Undyne's kindness was rarely visible, but Frisk knew it was there, showing itself in her one, glowing yellow eye._

* * *

 _*I see a beautiful, living SOUL. And the Soul is what makes us all the same and different at the same time. My child… you might not understand yet, but we are all connected. Monsters… they are on a strange level. We can feel each other's emotions… we can make our Souls beat all at the same time, if we want to. What binds us is love… You can not feel like monsters do, that is true, but…* she sweetly smiled at her small child, looking at her with bright, beautiful eyes wide open, *Being my little child, I am sure you will learn about compassion more than you will ever want to. And feeling love towards all can be challenging, especially for a being with more matter… but I am sure you will sty determined to find that feeling for all monsters, my sweet, sweet child.*_

 _Frisk just stared for a while, but then she smiled widely, from ear to ear. She remembered promising herself she'd seek out the good in every being that day, even in those who seemed evil._

 _She loved Toriel with everything she had. The caretaker that had taken her in as she felt down, the mother that healed her wounds, the goat monster that told her stories about life and dreams, the only family she had all these years that smiled for her when she couldn't. There was no one she could love more than Toriel, the monster that lost her life because of the huge amount of love she shared with the child. All those precious moments she spent with her were sending tears down Frisk's face. She was sure that even if she lost all of her memories now, she would always remember her nice, silent voice and her warm, fuzzy hands that would pet her to sleep every night, even as a teen. The thing she loved most on her was the way she talked, calmly and silently, even when telling stupid jokes that immediately fell flat._

* * *

" _Those are friendship bracelets… I made the same for myself, see?" she raised her hand to show the neatly knit flowery bracelet to the puzzled skeleton who obviously never got such attention from a person that wasn't his brother, "it's… a gift. Because I think you are really nice and…"_

 _ ***oh, come on, kid. you're making me blush. well, not really, but still.**_

 _She put the carefully crafted bracelet on his hand, and he just watched her do that. He didn't look really happy, but he sweetly smiled and looked back at her anyways._

" _See? Now we're forever friends", she stated and softly giggled as he blinked a few times, his wide smile getting smaller._

 _ ***…friends…?***_ _he asked like he never heard of that word's meaning. She never knew him, so she couldn't tell if that was actually the case._

" _Sure," she happily stated and stood up on her trembling legs, ready to leave him, "and we'll always stay like that, right?"_

 _There was uncertainty in Sans' eye sockets, like he was expecting her to suddenly burst into laughter and reveal that she was playing a trick on him the whole time. Frisk stood there, waiting for his response, hoping it would be a 'yes'. A few seconds later, he tilted his head as he sweetly smiled and shyly looked away from her._

 _ ***sure.**_

 _Sans was someone really special to her. He was someone she didn't know anything about, but knew that she could trust him anyways. Even after murdering his brother, alongside with most of the monsters, he stood there by her side and spared her, reassuring her that everyone could become a hero of their story if they just kept moving on and never give up. He was the one that would always protect her no matter what, and she felt a special bond between them. Unlike at Toriel's jokes, she always had to laugh at his ones. And she still had hope that he did have a crush on Grillby, even if he said otherwise._

 _She had always admired his sleeping skills, but what meat the most to her was the fact that he'd always smile at her, even though there was nothing to laugh about._

* * *

 _I WON'T LET YOU HARM THE ONE THAT… EVEN THOUGH HE IS MUCH GREATER THAN I AM… STILL BELIEVES IN ME… THE ONLY ONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME…* Papyrus admitted and let her slice his shirt, even though he could have blocked her hit. He realigned his scarf and widely smiled again._

 _BECAUSE I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT._

 _Frisk struck him again, but he still just stood there, even though every chance of survival vanished. But he still refused to stop believing. He'd believe to the bitter end._

 _I BELIEVE IN YOU._

 _She growled and struck him at the same spot. He didn't lose his hopeful smile._

 _I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU._

 _She cut him._

 _I ALWAYS WILL. AND I ALWAYS DID._

 _After a few more slices, his innocent smile faded since it hurt too much, it seemed. Still, he managed to make it appear on his childish face again, his smile shining brighter than any star ever will, and Frisks' eyes released tears again as she remembered that. He never gave up, no matter how hard it was._

 _BECAUSE A FRIEND LIKE YOU IS TRULY UNREPLACEABLE._

 _He took another blow, closing his small eye sockets as his smile continued shining from his face._

 _I WANT TO STAY FRIENDS. FOR… NO FRIENDSHIP IS AN ACCIDENT! WE WERE MEANT TO BE BEST OF FRIENDS! FOREVER!* she remembered hesitating to hit him that moment. She remembered how she suddenly felt her Soul clenching, her throat aching. But she had to hit him. The voices in her head forced her to. He fell to his knees as a bone appeared in his hand. He clenched it and Frisk thought he'd finally fight back, but he didn't. In fact, he did the opposite._

 _Papyrus was someone Frisk had adored from the second she met him. He was goofy, innocent, and simply adorable. He found difficulties in things no one else would and he never tried to hide anything, except from the fact that sometimes, even his happiness would fade. Still, he would never give up. Dedicated to himself as much as he was to others, Papyrus would never cease to make people interested into what he was doing. And although he thought he wasn't popular and that he wasn't appreciated or wanted, everybody liked him in actuality. His obsession with spaghetti and drama, his explosive attitude, his intolerance for Sans' jokes, his immature behavior, his funny voice, his caring nature. There wasn't a thing anybody could dislike on him, and Frisk couldn't as well. Perhaps he wasn't as reasonable and smart like the others, but he surely surpassed all of them in kindness and bravery. He believed all his life. And that was what Frisk loved about him the most._

 _And he smiled in the darkest of times, without even pretending to._

 _A FRIEND IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHO YOU ARE AND ACCEPTS WHAT YOU'VE BECOME… AND STILL TRIES TO HELP YOU… BUT ALSO LETS YOU GROW BY YOURSELF.*_

* * *

Her HP went to zero and everything turned black. She didn't feel anything, couldn't move and didn't feel anything. But there was something keeping her from going away just yet and forgetting about them. Alphys, Mettaton, Undyne, Flowey, Sans, Papyrus, Toriel. They were all smiling at her, waiting for her soul to return home. They wouldn't exist anymore… but maybe those memories would stick with her to the bitter end. Or maybe…?

 ** _BUT IT REFUSED._**

The person still holding her to prevent her from escaping witnessed her soul rising up, recollecting its lost, graying pieces. It then shone brightly as it went back to the child, the scientist still staring at the soul that turned her body back into color. Suddenly, Frisk reopened her eyes and went straight towards him. The person glitched and braced for impact, but no attack came from her. What did almost shatter his soul was when Frisk wrapped her small, weak arms around the tall skeleton's waist, crying bitter tears into his cloth that suddenly stopped moving around on its own and just drooped down to the floor as he stared ahead of himself. The slender figure soon looked down at her as she was nudging him with her forehead, wiping the tears off her face. As he didn't know what to do or feel, he slowly put his long, boney hand around her small body and pressed her closer, hoping she'd stop whining.

"I… I never knew you… but I know you are not bad."

The shady figure remained looking at her, trying to understand what was going on. He erased the world she loved more than her own and erased everyone she cared about. Not just that, _he_ made herdo most of the dirty work, so he wouldn't have to bear seeing the two other skeletons dying. He couldn't understand why she'd hug him, or why she still tried. Also, why would Sans still try, even if he couldn't remember?

"Even though you made mistakes… you are still living, right? And since you are, you shouldn't give up… You should keep moving forward, no matter how many times you fail to do the right thing," she looked up at him as he still just stared, "I was just like you at one point!"

As she said that, her smile widened. The figure glitched, static noises filling the endless area.

 _ ***Y-YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I MADE YOU DO THOSE THINGS. I MADE YOU WEAK AT HEART. I HAD BEEN LYING. YOUR MISTAKES WERE**_ **MY** _ **MISTAKES ALL ALONG, HUMAN CHILD.**_

"I could have neglected it all from the start, couldn't I…? I stopped when a friend of mine made me… so why not earlier?"

The figure was silent as he slowly got his long phalanges at the kid's hair, uncertainly petting her soft, small human head. He couldn't bring himself to tell her he broke at the moment she intended to kill the small skeleton as well, releasing most parts of the determination.

 _ ***** W_ **h** _ **Y**_ **A** _ **Re Y** o **u… so**_ **N** _ **i** c **E to m** E **…?***_ his voice broke. _ **  
**_

Frisk smiled.

"Because we are both the same, aren't we?"

 _ ***NO, I ALREADY TOLD YOU-**_

"We both have Souls, don't we? And those bind us together!"

The figure opened his deformed mouth for a moment, before actually sweetly smiling at her and lowering to her height, his petting not stopping. He wanted to, but for some reason, couldn't. He didn't touch anything as soft as her hair was in a long time. He didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't how it worked. Suddenly, tears rushed down his cheekbones again as he burst into sudden laughter, Frisk just staring at him. Even though he still looked creepy, she smiled at him. There was some unexplainable happiness in her, for some reason. As he stopped laughing, he glitched, revealing a happy, non-cracked face for a moment. She suddenly reached for his hand on her head, so he stopped.

 _ ***What is it, child?**_

"What's your name?"

He went silent for a while. He didn't intend to tell anyone his name, but he soon smiled and decided to say it anyways. The human was obviously not a threat and now he knew he was physically and mentally unable to kill her. Not that he couldn't, with the small piece od determination he had. He didn't want to.

He removed his hand from her and leaned back, kneeling at the floor that wasn't really a floor. He raised his hand into the air and quickly signed something as Frisk just stared blankly at him.

 _ ***What…? Don't understand sign language…? What a shame. It is actually pretty**_ **handy** _ **.**_

Frisk's eyes widened as she heard the pun that came from his cracked mouth that wasn't moving as he would talk. She looked up to meet his eye sockets, only to see him burst into the same, somewhat annoying laughter as before.

"You… remind me of someone."

He soon stopped and looked back down at her, wiping black goo coming out of his mouth.

 _ ***Do I know who you are talking about, and do you know that I might don't know who you're talking about? I know that you know who you think off but I don't think you know that I know something you don't about the person you know but not know at the same time… You know?**_

Frisk stared blankly at him as he creepily smiled again, but looked happy.

Suddenly, a small ball of light appeared in front of her nose, happily twirling. She remembered seeing lights like the one in front of her some time before. It happily bounced and made its way towards her forehead, smacking into it. Frisk frowned and tried to fend it away from her face, but the light seemed incredibly attached to her, just like it wanted to hug her, if it could. Then, another white light came from above, smacking against the other in an attempt to stop it from twirling around the human. But the light didn't stop.

The figure next to her tried to reach out for the prancing light, only to be attacked by it. He hurtfully smiled as he saw that Frisk smiled as well.

 _ ***…He seems to like you***_ , he stated as Frisk made a confused expression. She tilted her head.

"What is that?" she asked as the person next to her coughed again. She looked up at him, only to realize they were somewhere entirely else. There was nothing gray anymore, now everything was white, with thousands of shining lights playfully looping through the air. She looked back at the small light trying to poke her eye out, putting two hands underneath it as it stopped. She just stared at it for a while, and it seemingly stared back.

 _ ***This place seems familiar to you, doesn't it…?***_ his silent, hoarse voice said as he chuckled, _***Those are, indeed, SOULS, Frisk.**_

"Souls?" she asked, confused. They weren't heart-shaped, so she would never guess.

 _ ***Specifically, monster souls after shattering. You see, here they live and are free to roam around. Life never ends for them after turning to dust… since they aren't physical, the void I am dragging with myself didn't absorb it. Instead, they still live here. I figured I'd teleport you over here to reunite you with the ones you lost, human. And this one in particular seemed to have believed you would return t see it afterwards…**_

Frisk widely opened her eyes, widely smiling as the light looped in the air to smack against her face again. She happily giggled as another light came down to see her, spinning around wildly and restlessly, showing off its agility. It decided not to bother her anymore as soon as another one came, slowly and elegantly approaching the child's face. It then smacked against her face as well, making Frisk smile.

"How many of them are there?"

 _ ***I don't know. Monsters can't see them.**_

"Oh."

The figure beside her smiled.

 _ ***Don't worry. I have my own VISION of them.**_

The first light to have come down to her suddenly started flying into circles rapidly, just like he didn't like the pun the skeleton said. Frisk chuckled as the figure reached out his hand, and she accepted it as they stood up.

 _ ***AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD PROBABLY LIKE TO STAY FOR YOUR REUNION, MY MAGIC POWER IS RUNNING LOW. I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME…***_ he loudly said and Frisk released his hand and stepped back.

"What do you mean?" Frisk worryingly asked as the lights kept crashing into her.

 _ ***MY MAGIC LEVEL IS FALLING DANGEROUSLY LOW. THE GAME IS RUNNING TOO FAST AND WE MIGHT GET STUCK FOREVER AS WELL… EVEN EXPIRIENCING A FATAL ERROR IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING AGAINST IT. IT'S STILL NOT OVER. THERE'S STILL MUCH TO GO WRONG IF YOU DON'T ACT QUICKLY…**_

"I don't understand…"

 _ ***I AM NOT EXPECTING OF YOU TO UNDERSTAND. NOT EVEN I CAN UNDERSTAND THIS SITUATION FULLY, SO I WON'T BOTHER EXPLAINING IT TO YOU. YOU WILL JUST DO AS I SAY. RELEASE YOUR SOUL SO I CAN RETURN THE DETERMINATION I HAVE STOLEN FROM YOU.**_

"But…"

 _ ***IF YOU VALUE YOUR FRIENDS AND MEMORIES, DO AS I SAY. IN BATTLE, I WAS SOMEWHAT UNCONSCIOUS OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING. AS GREAT AS MY MIND IS, I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF THE SIMPLE SOLUTION OF RETURNING THE DETERMINATION AND HELPING YOU OUT…***_ he straightened, _***WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT… IT SEEMS LIKE ALL THIS WAS ACTUALLY UNNECESSARY… I AM SORRY. I WAS NOT BEING MYSELF… FOR A LONG TIME NOBODY SHOWED COMPASSION TOWARDS ME AND SEEMS LIKE I HAVE BEEN… WELL, DEVOID OF EMOTIONS. I TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULDN'T HELP ME BEFORE… BUT… I WAS WRONG ONCE AGAIN.**_

He smiled as she did.

 _ ***Thank you, human.**_

At that, he released his soul and tore a red piece out of it, magic beginning to burst out of the almost completely destroyed soul. He nodded and Frisk got her soul out as well, absorbing the red light as it was immediately flying towards her upon getting out of the figure standing in front of her. She suddenly looked up at him as he coughed again, his body glitching.

"What will happen to you now…?"

The figure sweetly smiled.

 _ ***IT DOES NOT ACTUALLY MATTER… I WILL BE SENT BACK INTO NOTHINGNESS, DOOMED TO LIVE A LIFE WITHOUT A REAL FORM OR A REAL WORLD… BUT DON'T WORRY. I WILL STILL LIVE… ALTHOUGH I WILL CEASE TO EXIST.**_

"But… all alone…?" Frisk silently said as his soul shattered even more. He got it back to his chest, and so did Frisk with hers. He was shaking uncontrollably, but still smiling.

 _ ***ALONE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.**_

She didn't feel any better as he said that.

 _ ***SOME PEOPLE CANNOT REDEEM THEMSELVES THAT EASILY, HUMAN. I HAVE MADE MY MISTAKES AND WILL LEARN HOW TO COPE WITH THEM. THERE IS NEVER AN HAPPY ENDING TO EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE…**_ **AND YOU WILL SOON LEARN THAT FROM YET ANOTHER PERSON** _ **, I'M SURE OF IT. IT IS BETTER FOR ME TO STAY BEHIND, DON'T YOU THINK…? IT IS… A**_ **PROPER** _ **PUNISHMENT…**_

He smiled and Frisk felt her determination activating as she wanted to see her friends again and wanted to experience the world all over again, but in a new light. And this time she wouldn't stay, like her mother wanted her to, and she wouldn't hurt anybody. The lights around her suddenly engulfed her and she got scared, but the reassuring look on the skeleton next to her made her fear vanish.

 _ ***MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE SKELETONS YOU KNOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES, WON'T YOU?**_

Frisk determinedly nodded, but turned her head towards him before the white light would cover her completely.

"What's your name…?"

The figure smiled as he glitched again, putting his melted arms at his back and leaning forward.

 _ ***W. D. GASTER.**_

"Gaster…" she repeated as he saw her smile widely at him yet again, piecing his soul back together. She soon heard static noises as the lights came closer to her, and she seemed to slowly lose her consciousness. Still, she knew she would turn out well as some of the light happily twirled around her, assuring everything would be just fine. They forgave her, and she would never forget that. Soon, she peacefully closed her eyes and sighed, prepared to leave the realm she was in. And as she fell unconscious, everything around her faded in a mere second, eradicating the white and turning all to black. The former royal scientist was left all alone again. His particles, his matter glitched as he felt the void getting empty. Still, he stayed in the exact same position, sweetly smiling. When the static calmed down and everything went back to normal, he sighed as he slowly moved his decomposing, glitching body. He wished to see them eye socket to eye socket again, but it was better for him to stay in the void, all alone, where he couldn't cause any harm. After all, he wasn't supposed to exist anymore. He was supposed to stay forgotten.

* * *

 **O** n a pile of beautiful golden flowers which broke her fall, there was a little child with short, brown hair and a long-sleeved, blue shirt with lilac stripes. The shirt was too big. She couldn't open her eyes, but she sat up and sighed. After a few seconds of feeling the softness of the flowers beneath her, she widely smiled. She did it.

 _ **M**_ _ostly because of brav_ _ **E**_ _ry. Jus_ _ **T**_ _ice. In_ _ **T**_ _eg_ _ **R**_ _ity. K_ _ **I**_ _n_ _ **D**_ _ness. Pers_ _ **E**_ _vera_ _ **N**_ _ce. And p_ _ **A**_ _t_ _ **I**_ _e_ _ **N**_ _ce._


End file.
